Home health aides charged with stealing over $170G from Middle Island woman, 84

Prosecutors accused three home health aides of stealing more than $170,000 in signed blank checks and credit card charges from an elderly Middle Island woman.

The three aides cared for the woman, now 84, at her home from October 2019 through January 2022, where prosecutors said aides used the blank checks to fraudulently fill out time sheets and drain her bank account.

Suffolk County prosecutors charged Danielle Guarino, 55, of Coram, and Teresa Garcia, 53, and Mamerta Gonzales, 72, both of Ridge, with felony grand larceny.

Guarino was also charged with a second count of grand larceny and felony identity theft after prosecutors accused her of using the woman’s credit cards to make $12,245 in purchases on Amazon.

Attorneys for the three defendants could not be reached for comment Wednesday. The women pleaded not guilty during separate court appearances in the past week, with Guarino appearing in court Wednesday. They were arrested following an investigation by Suffolk police and the district attorney’s Financial Crimes Bureau.

The three women were each released on their own recognizance because the charges were not considered bail-eligible, according to the district attorney’s office.

"The defendants were trusted aides who allegedly exploited the elderly victim’s vulnerabilities to line their own pockets," Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said in a statement.

Prosecutors said the woman became frail and unable to write checks, so her daughter left signed blank checks intended to pay the home-health aides and the woman’s bills. The aides filled out time sheets for the woman to be reimbursed for long-term disability insurance, prosecutors said.

Guarino is accused of writing checks to herself and the other two aides totaling $160,712 in excess of what they should have been owed, according to their time sheets. Guarino received $110,000 more than what she should have been paid, while Garcia is accused of taking an additional $43,560, and Gonzalez $7,152, according to the district attorney’s office.

Guarino is also charged with making the unauthorized Amazon purchases, and using the blank checks to pay the associated credit card bills, authorities said.

"This is a disheartening case involving the financial exploitation of an elderly woman by individuals entrusted with her care," Suffolk County Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina said in a statement.

By John Asbury

john.asbury@newsday.comJohnAsbury

John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.