A personal care assistant is accused of bilking a 95-year-old woman out of roughly $150,000, Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden revealed. Dominique Emmanuel, a 41-year-old Brockton resident, faces charges of medical assistance fraud by provider and larceny over $1,200 by single scheme.
The disturbing case surfaced after the victim's daughter reported her suspicions in February 2023, believing her mother's personal assistant of several years was swindling her, officials said. It came to light that Emmanuel, who started as the elderly woman's bank teller at Santander Bank in Mattapan, had subsequently become ensnared in a devious web of financial deceit. The misconduct included unapproved reversals of mortgage leading to a home foreclosure, unauthorized bank withdrawals, and skimming rent money due to the victim, according to NBC Boston.
The victim's daughter discovered the reverse mortgage and the home's resulting foreclosure after probing her mother's financial situation. She also learned about Emmanuel's role as an alternate executor of the will, unbeknownst to the family.“The stunning breadth of this scheme illustrates the trust and authority given to this woman and how she abused that trust and authority to fill her own pockets. It’s something we’ve seen far too often, and it’s a clear signal to older adults and their families to be ever vigilant when money and services are involved,” Hayden was quoted by NBC Boston.
Further investigation by police exposed that Emmanuel collected over $30,000 in rent cash from the tenant of the first-floor unit of the victim's home, none of which made it to the rightful owner. Additionally, a review of employment records from personal care attendant program Tempus Unlimited showed she had been paid for hours not worked, including times when she was out of state and when the victim did not require services due to hospitalization, totaling a Medicaid fraud loss of approximately $3,763.60, as reported by WHDH News.
Hayden announced the creation of the Suffolk County Fraud Fighters, this multi-agency initiative aims to arm residents, especially older adults, with information to recognize and combat financial scams.
