A federal judge sentenced an Alabama women to nearly five years in prison for stealing the identity of resident in the nursing home in which she worked. Shostocka Keya Ward stole in excess of $300,000 from a resident that had few visitors and no family to help oversee her affairs. Ward spent the money on a wedding, gambling trips, and funding prison accounts using the residents credit card. The judge rejected leniency pleas from the defense attorney who argued that Ward was seeking to amend her ways and had the support of friends and family. Instead the judge handed down the five year sentence in addition to five years of supervised probation and an order for restitution of the stolen money.
See Kent Faulk, Alabama woman sentenced for stealing more than $300,000 from dementia patient, AL.com, September 17, 2015.
Special thanks to Brian Cohan (Attorney at Law, Law Offices of Brian J. Cohan, P.C.) for bringing this article to my attention.
