Former Assisted Living Employee Allegedly Used Dead Man's Card

ROSWELL, GA -- A former assisted living employee has been charged with financial transaction card theft after he allegedly took the credit card of a patient who died hours earlier and used it to buy gift cards.

Dannair Byrd, 36, of Atlanta, is a former employee of Tapestry House Memory Care in Roswell. He allegedly took a patient named Frank Yoder’s credit card and used it to buy two $100 gift cards at a Johns Creek Kroger, the AJC and Channel 2 Action News reported.

Yoder died last August from dementia, the AJC said. His family was notified days later that his card was used for the transactions, according to police. The family reportedly worked with Kroger for weeks to try to find surveillance footage, and were surprised when they recognized Byrd.

Lisa Lewis, executive director of Tapestry House, told the AJC that the arrest prompted changes at the facility, including limiting the access staff member have to patients’ rooms.

Bond for Byrd was set at $5,000 in a pre-trial release, according to the Fulton County Sheriff's Office.