A 26-year-old in-home caregiver from Palatka is accused of stealing more than $180,000 from a 92-year-old St. Johns County woman who is visually impaired, allegedly guiding the victim's hand to sign checks the client could not read. Maryjean “Mary” Victoria Small was arrested on August 17 and booked into the St. Johns County Jail, where she remains held on a $340,000 bond with a court order barring any contact with the victim.
Small had worked as the woman's in-home caregiver from January 2025 through July 2026, assisting her with daily activities and buying groceries and household necessities, according to Tampa Free Press. She had been placed with the client through Concierge Care, a referral agency that operates as a licensed Florida nurse registry across 14 cities and connects clients with caregivers who function as 1099 independent contractors rather than direct employees, according to Concierge Care. That contractor arrangement raises open questions about who bears responsibility for background screening and oversight when a caregiver placed this way is accused of a multi-year fraud.
An arrest affidavit filed by the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office indicates Small took advantage of the victim's severe visual impairment by routinely preparing checks herself and physically guiding the woman's hand to sign them, falsely telling her the checks covered telephone or utility bills, as reported by News4JAX. The victim does not use electronic devices or online banking and does not own a computer, which investigators say made it easier for the scheme to go undetected.
63 Checks and a Fake Online Bank Profile
Law enforcement records show Small deposited 63 unauthorized checks totaling $82,238.71 into her personal VyStar Credit Union account, the station's report states. Investigators also say she transferred $70,000 out of the victim's savings using an online Wells Fargo account that had been fraudulently created in the victim's name to execute digital transfers she could not have authorized herself.
Detectives with the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office Property Crimes Unit determined Small knowingly and intentionally exploited the victim, ultimately identifying more than $180,000 in fraudulent transactions, cash withdrawals, and illicit transfers. Investigators reviewed bank records, business files, ATM withdrawal logs, witness statements, and retail surveillance footage as part of the probe, per the same account. That footage reportedly showed Small using the victim's debit card to buy toys and children's clothing, and records show the victim's payment cards had been linked to Small's personal Uber account.
Threats Used To Keep the Victim Isolated
A witness statement detailed in the arrest warrant says Small actively worked to isolate the victim, threatening to quit providing care if the senior visited the bank with anyone else and falsely warning the woman she would face a $20,000 fine if it came out that Small was being paid “under the table,” according to News4JAX. The victim eventually told detectives that payments and checks made out to Small were unauthorized, setting off the investigation, which ultimately covered unauthorized transactions spanning 18 months.
Small was booked on a long list of charges, including exploitation of the elderly, theft from a person 65 years of age or older, scheme to defraud, fraudulent use of credit cards, uttering forged instruments, criminal use of personal identification information, and unlawful use of a two-way communication device to facilitate a felony, per Tampa Free Press. Detectives say she obtained the victim's personal identifying information, checkbooks, credit cards, debit cards, and financial-account access without authorization over the course of her employment.
Florida Law Treats the Theft as a First-Degree Felony
Under Florida Statute § 825.103, financial exploitation of an elderly person involving property or funds valued at $50,000 or more is classified as a first-degree felony carrying a potential penalty of up to 30 years in state prison, according to StechLaw Criminal Defense. The $180,000 loss alleged in this case far exceeds the national average; a 2025 Florida Senate bill analysis citing FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center data found elder financial exploitation losses among victims 60 and older reached $3.4 billion nationally in 2023, averaging $33,915 per victim, according to the Florida Senate Committee on Children, Families, and Elder Affairs.
St. Johns County has a substantial senior population that makes this kind of case especially consequential locally. U.S. Census Bureau estimates from 2024 show roughly 72,200 county residents are 65 or older, about 21.6% of the total population, per USAFacts. Research compiled by the National Adult Protective Services Association shows that 90% of elder financial abusers are family members or trusted caregivers, and that only an estimated 1 in 44 financial exploitation cases is ever reported to authorities, which helps explain why schemes like this one can run for so long before anyone notices.
This is not the first such case to surface in the county recently. Back in March, deputies arrested a 36-year-old Jacksonville caregiver accused of stealing more than $98,000 from an 87-year-old Nocatee resident, a case Hoodline previously covered. It is the latest in a string of similar caregiver-fraud arrests reported across Florida this year, underscoring a pattern that has drawn increasing attention from local law enforcement agencies statewide.
