EAST ST. LOUIS – A woman who abused her employment with an in-home health care company and stole the identities of her elderly clients is heading to prison. Erica S. Rose, 31, of East Saint Louis, Illinois, was sentenced today to one year and one day in federal prison and two years of court supervision after her release.
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Rose pled guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud and aggravated identity theft last November.
Edwardsville Police Department received an initial tip about the bank fraud report on October 12, 2018. The investigation was conducted by detectives from the Edwardsville Police Department, Belleville Police Department, Swansea Police Department, and St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Luke J. Weissler.
Edwardsville Police Major Michael Fillback said: "A family member of an elderly female made the initial report. They were alerted to potential fraud occurring on the account by their bank. At the time of the report it was brought to our attention that the elderly female had in home assistance from Care Link, which included caretakers taking the elderly female to run errands. After extensive investigation by our investigators, they were able to identify a suspect that worked for Care Link and identified additional victims in other communities. Working together with other police departments we were able to obtain the charges."
In 2018, Rose worked for a company called CareLink and gained access to the homes of her elderly victims as their hired caretaker. While inside, she stole social security numbers and other identifying information and passed the stolen information along to her co-defendant, Ashley McKinney.
McKinney allegedly used victims’ funds and identities to withdraw money from ATMs, deposit fraudulent checks, and even purchase a car online for over $28,000. There is an outstanding warrant for McKinney’s arrest in this case.
As part of her sentence, Rose was ordered to pay $9,864.71 in restitution.
Major Fillback reminded everyone as always to monitor their bank accounts and credit cards for fraudulent activity.
"If you believe you or a loved one has been the victim of such a crime to contact your bank and local police department for assistance," he said.
