A former assisted living center worker accused of fraudulently using checking account of a resident suffering from dementia is heading to a grand jury.
Substitute Judge Robert Pustilnik certified charges against Newport News resident Patricia Sutton, who allegedly engaged in several fraudulent transactions with the account from July to September while employed at Morningside Assisted Living of Williamsburg as a housekeeper. Because the charges were certified, Sutton’s case will go to Williamsburg-James City County Circuit Court where a grand jury will determine if the case should go to trial there.
James City County Police Department officer Donald Borst said he began investigating the case after receiving information about possible fraudulent activity with the account. By the time the investigation began, the victim in the alleged case had died.
Borst testified he looked through the bank records associated with the account in question and found numerous suspicious charges. Sutton then appeared at the James City County Law Enforcement Center to answer questions.
He said Sutton told her she came to know the victim by cleaning her room. She said she ran errands and paid bills for the victim. Borst then outlined a series of charges, ranging from $6 at a gas station to a pair of $800 rent payments Sutton is alleged to have made with the account.
In all, Borst outlined more than $2,000 in fraudulent charges, including the rent, gas, trips to Food Lion, a car payment, power bills and more. One of the rent payments came after the victim died.
He said the family came forward with some suspicious items prompting the investigation. Fernando Groene, Sutton’s attorney, questioned Borst about whether he had ever seen the alleged victim alive — he had not. Borst said Sutton told him she had permission to use the checking account to pay her bills. Some of the alleged fraudulent charges were made with a debit card, which was not recovered.
Pustilnik said the matter is “certainly a jury question as to exactly what happened.”
Sutton was arrested Oct. 2, according to court records. She is facing four felony charges of financially exploiting a mentally incapacitated person and one felony charge of credit card theft.
A Circuit Court date has yet to be set.
