Suffolk DA: Jazzame Paranzino admits to stealing more than $50,000 from special-needs home residents

A former manager at a Medford home for people with special needs admitted Wednesday to stealing more than $50,000 from nearly a dozen residents, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office said.

Jazzame Paranzino, 31, of Shirley, pleaded guilty to attempted grand larceny following a plea agreement that will also require her to serve 4 months in prison and pay back the money she stole, prosecutors said in a news release. Paranzino was previously charged with grand larceny, a felony with a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.

“This defendant stole funds from people with severe disabilities who were in need of 24-hour care,” District Attorney Ray Tierney said. “These individuals and their families trusted her, and instead of honoring that trust, this defendant stole thousands of dollars from them for her own personal use.”

Prosecutors said the thefts were from the bank accounts of 11 residents at Maryhaven Center of Hope in Medford, where Paranzino worked as a site manager assisting adults with severe developmental disabilities. As part of her job, Paranzino had access to each of the residents’ debit cards when the thefts occurred between January 2020 and March 2021, prosecutors said.

When residents needed cash for outings, Paranzino was tasked with providing it for them. She also was responsible for purchasing furniture and electronics for them and used that responsibility as cover for the thefts, prosecutors said.

Reached by telephone Wednesday, Paranzino’s defense attorney, Mark Silverman of Freeport, declined to comment.

Paranzino also will serve 5 years of probation following her release from prison under the terms of the plea agreement, prosecutors said.

One of her responsibilities was to withdraw money to place in each residents’ petty cash envelope so they could go on outings to eateries and local stores. In addition, she was able to withdraw money for various expenditures for home goods for each resident, such as furniture and electronics, officials said.

Paranzino took money from the residents’ bank accounts under the guise of purchasing items that they needed, but instead she stole more than $50,000 from the residents, the district attorney said.

Paranzino pleaded guilty to second-degree attempted grand larceny before state Supreme Court Justice Timothy P. Mazzei. As a condition of her guilty plea, Paranzino has agreed to repay the money stolen and will be sentenced to 4 months’ incarceration and 5 years’ probation.

This case was prosecuted by Deirdre Horney of the Financial Crime Bureau.