Former Maryhaven Group Home Manager Stole From 11 Residents: DA

MEDFORD, NY – A Medford woman was sentenced to four months in jail followed by five years of probation after stealing more than $50,000 from the accounts of 11 Maryhaven group home residents in her care in Medford, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said.

Jazzame Paranzino, 31, of Shirley, is required to fully repay the victims their money that was stolen from them, Tierney said.

According to the investigation and the guilty plea, from January, 2020 to March, 2021,

Paranzino stole funds from the bank accounts of 11 residents while she was working as the site manager for Maryhaven Center of Hope, a residential facility in Medford, Tierney said. The residence houses severely developmentally disabled adults who are unable to care for themselves in many ways, including managing their own finances, the DA said.

As site manager, Paranzino had control of and access to the 11 residents’ bank accounts and their debit cards; one of her responsibilities was to withdraw money to place in each residents’ petty cash envelope, so they could go on outings to eateries and local stores, Tierney said.

In addition, she was able to withdraw money for various expenditures for home goods for each resident, such as furniture and electronics, the DA said. Paranzino took that money out of the bank but did not use it for the residents or make the purchases for which the money was intended, Tierney said.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, there were no outings for the residents and in-house activities were limited, so Paranzino took money from all of their bank accounts under the guise of purchasing items that they needed — and between January, 2020 and March, 2021, she stole more than $50,000 from the residents, the DA said.

On December 21, 2022, Paranzino pleaded guilty before Supreme Court Justice Timothy P. Mazzei, to second-degree attempted grand larceny, a felony, Tierney said.

During her sentencing on Thursday, Mazzei also ordered Paranzino to pay restitution in the amount of $50,744, to be paid through probation, Tierney said.

She was represented by Mark Silverman, who could not immediately be reached for comment.

"This defendant stole funds from individuals with severe disabilities in need of 24-hour care. The individuals and their families trusted the defendant and instead of honoring that trust, she stole thousands of dollars from them for her own personal use," said Tierney. "I thank the staff of the Maryhaven facility and the financial crimes unit detectives for their thorough investigation in this case and for helping us to hold this defendant responsible for her actions."