Caregiver Swindled Sick, Elderly Ladies Out of Thousands

Written by Scott Viau

A Chicago caregiver charged with stealing from two DuPage County women, one of whom was a Winfield woman confined to hospice care in her home, has been sentenced to six years in the Illinois Department of Corrections, according to a release from the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office.

Latesha Miller, 38, of 7313 S. Wolcott, appeared in court Friday where she entered a plea of guilty to one count of aggravated identity theft and one count of financial exploitation of an elderly person, both class 2 felonies.

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In August, 2013, while working as a CNA at the Spring Meadows senior living facility in Naperville, Miller stole an 86 year-old resident’s credit card and several checks. Miller used her victim’s credit card for unauthorized personal purchases and also made unauthorized deposits into her bank account from her victim’s checking account.

Miller also attempted to open up lines of credit using her victim’s personal information. The thefts were uncovered by the victim’s daughter who noticed discrepancies in her mother’s bank account and notified authorities. Additionally, from August 19-21, 2014, while working for a home health care agency, Miller was assigned to care for a hospice patient in Winfield.

While caring for the woman, who has since passed away, Miller stole two checks which were both written out to an acquaintance. The acquaintance cashed one of the checks in the amount of $499.50, kept $200 for herself and gave the remaining $299.50 to Miller. The acquaintance also attempted to cash the second check in the amount of $6,856 but was unable to as the account had been frozen.

“The greed exhibited by Latesha Miller is nothing short of heartless,” DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said. “Her victims, an 86 year-old woman and a terminally ill woman, needed medical help in their daily lives and trusted Ms. Miller to provide that help. Ms. Miller however, had no intentions of helping these women. She saw them as nothing more than easy targets. I would like to thank the Naperville and Winfield Police Departments for their outstanding work on this case as well as authorities at Spring Meadows for their complete cooperation throughout this entire investigation. I would also like to thank Assistant State’s Attorney Diane Michalak for her continued efforts in protecting one of society’s most vulnerable populations, our seniors.”

Miller will be required to serve 50 percent of her sentence before being eligible for parole. Judge Brian Telander also ordered Miller to pay restitution in the amount of $9,420.16.