Articles Tagged with vulnerable

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A married high school teacher in Mississippi was arrested after allegedly having an affair with a student that he reportedly planned to take out of state so they could be wed.

According to reports, last Spring, a 38-year-old physics teacher at Ocean Springs High School and a 17-year-old female student allegedly engaged in a relationship involving sex. Occasionally, the man allegedly took the teen to his Fort Bayou Estates home, and at other times they reportedly parked in a Walmart parking lot to engage in sexual relations.

The pair reportedly decided to leave the state and go to Louisiana so they could get married, even though the man has a wife and a young child.

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A California woman who used to work for the county behavioral health services in Sierra County has been accused of taking advantage of a client by stealing their financial information and embezzling thousands of dollars while on the job.

Last April, the Sierra County Sheriff’s Office received information about a situation where a woman employed at Sierra County Behavioral Health had allegedly financially exploited one of the clients for thousands of dollars. It was purported that she could do so by using her position of power to access and illegally pilfer funds from the bank cards of a vulnerable person.

During their months-long investigation, the authorities gathered information that caused them to believe they should check the woman’s home for evidence of purchases that could be connected to the allegations.

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A home health care worker in North Dakota was arrested after allegations of stealing credit cards from a vulnerable woman she was taking care of and using them for over $8,000 worth of purchases.

On June 2, the Fargo Police received notification about a possible fraud case involving a vulnerable adult and their caregiver. The alleged victim saw her credit card statement and believed a substantial amount of money was charged to her card without her consent. She reported that she suspected the woman who provides her with medical assistance was the person who made the purchases.

The 22-year-old from Fargo had access to the residence since she had been providing in-home health care to the woman.

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A woman working as a psychic out of a business in Mount Vernon, Washington, has been charged with defrauding clients after she was convicted for the same offense nearly ten years ago in Florida.

69-year-old Linda Marks, a woman claiming she is a psychic, stood trial in 2006 in Florida for scamming mostly ill and vulnerable clients for more than $2 million over a period of eight years by offering supernatural solutions to their dilemmas. Just before she was given a four year sentence she made a statement to the court apologizing for her actions. Marks explained that she learned to steal as a result of growing up in a gypsy community, and a family member trained her in fortunetelling. “This is our heritage. This is the way we are taught to survive,” she said.

Marks has now moved her business to Mount Vernon, Washington. A woman recently sought the help of Marks for romantic, physical and family problems which were causing her to suffer from depression. Marks allegedly informed the woman that she was afflicted with a curse, and she could be cured through spiritual means.

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On Wednesday in Portland, Oregon a U.S. District Judge sentenced Darren Bottinelli to 46 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release for healthcare fraud. Bottinelli was also order to pay $3,093,918 in restitution to his victims. The purpose of his company was to put money into trust accounts for employees of his clients, who could then draw upon those monies for eligible health expenditures.

Darren Bottinelli was the sole shareholder, officer, and director of Axis, based in Portland, Oregon. His company administered employee health reimbursement and flexible spending accounts for client employers nationwide.

Some of his clients included Goodwill Industries, Job squad, Cascade Christian Services, VersAbility Resources, and Vets Securing America; which employed veterans, mentally and physically disabled adults, other vulnerable individuals, as well as government contractors and other companies who hire hourly and minimum wage contract workers.

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