Nursing assistant at elderly care home accused of swiping money, identity from two patients

BERKELEY — A 44-year-old Oakland woman is suspected of stealing the identities and money of two nursing home residents while working as a nursing assistant there, police said.

Police arrested the woman on Nov. 22 outside of the Kyakameena Care Center in the 2100 block of Carleton Street, according to a statement from the Berkeley Police Department. The Alameda County District Attorney’s Office has charged her with two counts of theft from an elder or dependent person by a caretaker and two counts of identify theft, according to court documents.

Berkeley police Sgt. Jeremy Lathrop wrote in a declaration of probable cause that the suspect had admitted to the crimes.

The investigation began Sept. 23 when the adult son of a 73-year-old woman residing at the facility reported his mother’s debit card had been stolen and fraudulently used. Authorities said the suspect spent more than $10,000 with more than 100 purchases from April to August of 2022.

Authorities said the son discovered the missing money when the rent to his mother’s apartment could not be paid automatically because of insufficient funds.

Lathrop wrote that a search warrant to online shopping giant Amazon showed the suspect used the dementia-suffering woman’s Wells Fargo debit card to make the purchases and have them delivered to the suspect’s address.

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On Oct. 20, the brother of a 70-year-old woman who lived at the facility found numerous illicit purchases. Those purchases happened the same week the woman died, authorities said.

Lathrop wrote that he found the second victim’s Golden State Advantage card in the suspect’s wallet during a consensual search of her purse. Authorities said the woman also had the second victim’s checkbook and a debit card, which had been used for $689.99 in unauthorized charges.

According to Lathrop, the suspect also had a picture of one of the ATM cards on her cell phone, along with receipts from some of the purchases.

The suspect is due in court on Dec. 12, when she is expected to be given an attorney and enter her plea, officials said.

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