A 53-year-old Ghanaian immigrant and home health aide in New York, Jackie Pokuwaah, has been convicted of stealing nearly $800,000 from an elderly, disabled woman under her care.
Pokuwaah, who lived in the Bronx, worked as an attendant for 86-year-old Renee Fuld, a wheelchair-bound woman in Forest Hills, Queens, who had limited hand function and cognitive impairment.
According to the Queens District Attorney’s Office, Pokuwaah was earning about $81,000 a year but gradually gained control over Fuld’s daily financial affairs after establishing her trust.
Prosecutors said Pokuwaah then induced Fuld to sign more than 400 fraudulent checks between January 2007 and March 2011, totalling about $791,000, in addition to her salary.
The fraudulent checks reportedly contained deceptive descriptions such as “ice cream” for $1,700 and “laundry” for $700, which were allegedly used to disguise the thefts.
The fraud was uncovered after the fraud departments of JPMorgan Chase and TD Bank raised questions about large checks being issued from Fuld’s account.
Following a week-long trial, Pokuwaah was convicted of five counts of second-degree grand larceny and five counts of second-degree criminal possession of stolen property.
She was subsequently sentenced to 2½ to 7½ years in prison and ordered to make full restitution of the stolen funds.
Her lawyer, Murray Singer, unsuccessfully sought leniency, arguing that Fuld had been properly cared for and had not suffered physical abuse or neglect during the period of the theft.
Queens Supreme Court Judge John Latella, however, said Pokuwaah had abused the trust placed in her.
“Mrs. Fuld is someone who sought your help, but you abused her trust,” the judge told her during sentencing.
Pokuwaah, who was a Ghanaian immigrant, was also ordered to be deported from the United States after completing her prison sentence.
Fuld remained angry over the betrayal and reportedly told reporters to tell Pokuwaah to “go to hell.”
Then Queens District Attorney Richard Brown condemned the abuse of trust, stressing that home health aides are entrusted with the care of some of the most vulnerable people in society.
He said the defendant had used her position and influence over the elderly woman to systematically steal her life savings.
