PENSACOLA, Fla. (WKRG) — Attorney General Ashley Moody’s Medicaid Fraud Control unit, along with the Fort Walton Beach Police Department, announced today the arrest of a Navarre woman accused of stealing from an elderly woman in her care.
A media release from Moody’s office says Sabrina Shelton, a former employee at a skilled nursing center, was arrested and charged with one count of exploitation of an elderly person, a second-degree felony, and one count of misuse of a power of attorney held by facility staff, a third-degree felony.
The release says after a tip was sent into the Florida Department of Children and Families Adult Protective Services’ Elder Abuse Hotline, investigators discovered that while Shelton was an assistant administrator at a skilled nursing facility, she “gained access to a resident’s personal funds using a power of attorney.”
Investigators say Shelton used more than $10,000 of the victim’s money on herself, family members and acquaintances.
In the release, Moody said, “This case disgusts me—that a caregiver would exploit a senior entrusted to their care. I hope this arrest sends a strong message to anyone contemplating taking advantage of vulnerable Floridians, that I have investigators and attorneys laser-focused on stopping senior fraud and abuse, and you will not escape justice.”
If convicted, Shelton faces a combined 20 years in prison and up to $15,000 in fines.
The Attorney General’s Office, through an agreement with the State Attorney’s Office of the First Judicial Circuit, will prosecute the case.
