Ventura County Sheriff Department – Incident Press Release
On 03/08/19, Ojai Deputies were dispatched to a residence in Ojai for an “Elder Abuse” report. A longtime friend and the current home caregiver of the 99-year-old male victim contacted the Ventura Sheriff’s Office after they reviewed the victim’s funds over the past few years. They found discrepancies in checks paid to caregiver (S) Ann Villasanta, which Villasanta had written to herself. Villasanta had overpaid herself out of the victim’s checking account on several different occasions. Villasanta was a home caregiver employed by the family for the victim’s late wife. After the wife passed away, Villasanta was paid to help take care of the victim’s finances by writing checks for him from 2017-2019. Villasanta began having the victim sign blank checks, which she then fraudulently wrote out to herself, along with altering the amounts on already filled out checks -totaling $18,480.
Ojai Detectives investigated the reported allegation, and ultimately arrested Villasanta on 04/30/19 for 388(e) PC – Theft of an Elder by a Caretaker and 487 PC – Grand Theft Embezzlement.
Unfortunately, unscrupulous people can take advantage of people needing assistance. Often, these victims have no family or their family do not live close by to monitor the family member’s physical health or financial status.
At this time, there are no additional reported victim’s related to Villasanta. The Ventura Sheriff’s Office is recommending family members of her past home patients to examine their loved ones’ bank accounts and ensure they were not additional victims.
If you believe that your loved ones may have been a victim of Elderly Abuse by Financial Means while being cared for by Villasanta or any other caregiver, please contact your local law enforcement agency to report the crime.
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