A woman was taken into custody on allegations that she stole the identities of at least two of the elderly patients for whom she provided in-home health care, and used the information for her personal financial gain.
Aujana Johnson-Payne works for an agency in Orange County where she is sent on live-in assignments to clients’ homes, and she supplies them with meeting their healthcare needs. Many of the patients are senior citizens who live with debilitating symptoms after suffering strokes, developing dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and other serious afflictions.
Johnson-Payne has been accused of abusing her position with two elderly patients in her care when at some point during her employment she reportedly stole their credit card or debit card information and assumed their identities to make purchases for herself.
After she was arrested by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department on related charges in October last year, Johnson-Payne was charged with financial elder abuse and released on bail. She has continued her occupation with home healthcare agencies while awaiting the outcome of the prior allegations.
Authorities have been conducting a lengthy investigation into the claims and they purport that Johnson-Payne has used the alleged victims’ financial information for a number of acquisitions such as purchases of good online, accepting deliveries of food from application-based services such as Uber Eats and Door Dash, having alcohol delivered to her residence, and booking and occupying Long Beach hotel rooms. In addition, investigators reported that they believe Johnson-Payne applied for loans and accepted the money using the stolen cards to repay the debts.
Tustin police arrested Johnson-Payne in Artesia on Tuesday when they located her at a nursing school. She is facing charges of elder abuse, burglary, and identity theft.
If you or someone you love is suspected of a theft crime, contact Orange County criminal defense lawyer Staycie R. Sena at (949) 477-8088 for a consultation now.