A southwest Missouri judge describes the actions of a woman who stole from nursing home patients as “despicable.”
Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley says 41-year-old Kristi Metcalf of Carthage has been sentenced to ten years in state prison for receiving stolen property and for financial abuse of a Medicaid patient.
Jasper County Judge David Mouton describes Metcalf’s actions as “horrible”, adding that the victims were elderly or incapacitated.
Hawley says Metcalf was employed in the business office of a Carthage nursing home from 2010 to 2012, and was responsible for accounts which held resident funds in trust.
Metcalf has pleaded guilty to keeping about $44,000 in resident funds, without the residents or their families’ consent. In addition to prison time, Metcalf will also have to pay $44,000 in restitution.
Hawley notes some of the residents were Medicaid recipients.
“Criminal actions like those of Kristi Metcalf will not be tolerated in Missouri,” Hawley says in a statement. “Let this conviction signify to anyone trying to take advantage of our most vulnerable citizens that this behavior will not stand. Our office is firm in its commitment to protect all Missourians.”
