Fifth Defendant Pleads Guilty in Atlantic City Senior Care Company Case

Atlantic City, NJ -- An employee of an in-home senior care company in Atlantic County pleaded guilty to conspiring to steal from an elderly client on Monday, Attorney General Christopher S. Porrino announced yesterday.

Susan Hamlett, 57, of Egg Harbor Township, worked as an aide for the company "A Better Choice," which offered in-home care and legal financial planning for senior citizens.

Hamlett was charged in an investigation by the New Jersey State Police and the Division of Criminal Justice that revealed the owner of the company "A Better Choice," the owner's sister, and a lawyer conspired to steal millions of dollars from elderly clients, the press release states.

“By stealing the life savings of elderly clients who had no family to look out for them, these defendants placed themselves among the lowest of con artists,” said Attorney General Porrino in the press release. “The victims are gone, but we’ve persisted in our quest for justice for them, securing prison terms for all of the perpetrators.”

By pleading guilty to second-degree conspiracy, Hamlett admitted she conspired with her three co-defendants to steal more than $100,000 from an elderly woman, the press release says.

Hamlett faces a state prison sentence in the range of three to five years. Her sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 21.

All of Hamlett's co-defendants have now pleaded guilty. They were indicted on March 16, 2015. According to the press release, Hamlett's co-defendants were:

• Jan Van Holt, 60, of Linwood. Van Holt was the former owner of "A Better Choice." She pleaded guilty to first-degree money laundering and faces a 12-year sentence.
• Sondra Steen, 61, of Linwood. Steen is Van Holt's sister and helped run the business. Steen was sentenced to ten years in prison.
• William Price, 58, of Linwood. Price was a former county social worker who conspired with the others to steal from an elderly couple. Price pleaded guilty to a second-degree theft charge and admitted he stole $125,000 from a couple he met while working as a caseworker for Atlantic County Adult Protective Services. Price was sentenced to five years in prison.

Barbara Lieberman, 64, of Northfield, pleaded guilty before the case was indicted, the press release states. Lieberman was a lawyer who specialized in elder law. It was discovered that from 2003 to 2012, Van Holt and Steen conspired with Lieberman to steal more than $2.7 million from 12 elderly clients, the press release says.

Lieberman was sentenced to ten years in prison, according to the press release. She pleaded guilty to first-degree money laundering on Nov. 3, 2014 and was sentenced on March 25, 2015. Lieberman forfeited $3 million in assets and her law license.

“This is one of the most egregious cases of elder fraud that we have prosecuted in recent years, both in terms of the amount of money involved and the callous way that these defendants betrayed the trust of their victims,” said Director Elie Honig in the press release. “We’ll continue to work with our law enforcement partners to guard the elderly and other vulnerable New Jersey residents.”

The press release reports that Van Holt was usually the one to identify potential victims, who were elderly clients with substantial assets who typically didn't have any immediate family. The offenders would offer these elderly victims non-medical care and services, including household chores, errands, scheduling, budgeting, paying bills, balancing checkbooks, driving clients to appointments, and other various tasks.

When a target accepted Van Holt's services, Steen would then act as the victim's primary caregiver, the press release says. Lieberman would do the legal work. The offenders would then take control of the finances of their victims by forging a power of attorney or obtaining one on false pretenses.

The offenders would add their names to the victims' bank accounts and transfer the victims' funds into new accounts that they controlled, the press release reports. They would then use this money to pay for their own expenses.

Van Holt and Steen lived together and would use the money for veterinary bills for their pets, pool supplies, lease payments on a condo in Florida, and two Mercedes cars owned by Van Holt.

The offenders also used a portion of the money to keep the victims unaware of the thefts, the press release says. For example, in some instances the offenders would transfer money from one victim to another to pay expenses and cover up the thefts.

Additionally, the offenders continued to steal from the victims' estates after they died, the press release reports. When Lieberman prepared wills for the victims, she usually named herself or Van Holt as executor of the estate and named Steen as a beneficiary, or named someone else as a beneficiary who had little or no ties to the victim.

“The arrest and prosecution of these perpetrators sends a message that the victimization of the most vulnerable members of our society will not be tolerated,” said Colonel Rick Fuentes, Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police, in the press release.

Photo order: Susan Hamlett, Jan Van Holt, Barbara Lieberman, Sondra Steen, William Price

Photos courtesy of the Office of the Attorney General.