Florida Nursing Home Employee Allegedly Steals
Resident’s Jewelry
and Sells It to Pawnshop Owner
When two women, a mother and daughter, approached the owner of a pawn shop and wanted to sell some jewelry valued between $18,000 – $20,000, the owner says he felt sorry for them and gave them $300 for several pieces of the jewelry.
The daughter, who is an employee of a nearby nursing home, is accused of stealing a ring, two bracelets, and a necklace worth an estimated $20,000 from a resident in the nursing home. She sold the jewelry to the owner of two pawn shops who was operating without a pawnbroker’s license.
According to police, the alleged thief had previously stolen a necklace valued at $300 and sold it to a different pawn shop. Deputies reported that the woman had a master key she was not supposed to have and used it to enter the living quarters of the nursing home residents while they were out.
Police arrested the woman and charged her with two counts of burglary, one count of grand theft, and two counts of dealing in stolen property. The owner of the pawn shops was arrested and charged with purchasing jewelry without a pawnbroker’s license—items he should have realized were stolen.
Compliance Perspective
Failure to protect residents from employees gaining unauthorized access to their living quarters and taking residents’ valuable personal items may be considered an infringement of residents’ rights to a safe environment and freedom from misappropriation of personal belongings, both violations of state and federal regulations.
Discussion Points:
- Review policies and procedures for controlling access to master keys to residents’ living quarters.
- Train staff regarding misappropriation and exploitation of residents’ personal property and following protocols prohibiting unauthorized access to master keys that open residents’ living quarters.
- Periodically audit resident or family complaints regarding any missing personal items, including money, jewelry, clothing, etc., to determine if such complaints are being investigated and reported as a suspected crime.
