Florida nursing home worker accused of ripping off elderly dementia patient for almost $12,000

On May 10, the Collier County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) headquartered in Naples, Florida, reported that a former Collier County nursing home employee is now looking at being charged with at least two felonies after a criminal investigation revealed she stole nearly $12,000 from an elderly resident with dementia.

Tracey Anna Massey, 42, of the 3600 block of Boca Ciega Drive in Naples was arrested Tuesday and charged with exploitation of the elderly over $10,000 and grand theft over $10,000.

“This individual preyed on a vulnerable member of our community, and that’s unacceptable in Collier County,” Sheriff Kevin Rambosk said. “Thanks to excellent investigative work by our detectives she has been removed from our community and will now be held accountable for her criminal actions.”

The investigation found the thefts occurred from September 2022 to March 2023 while Massey was an activity manager at ProMedica Skilled Nursing Facility, located at 3601 Lakewood Boulevard in Naples.  The Sheriff’s Office said that Massey stole nine checks totaling $11,900 from the victim and deposited those checks into her personal bank accounts.

The victim, now deceased, was unable to care for himself and had a court-appointed guardian who made decisions on his behalf. 

Newsbreak identified the victim’s court-appointed guardian as Kathy Baranski who said that as soon as she realized her client was being exploited, she reported it to the nursing home.

Baranski went to the bank and was alerted that multiple checks had been processed. “I made copies, took it back to ProMedica nursing home, turned it in to them, and stated I had no clue who this person was and could they help me find this out.”

According to ABC-7 News, Massey’s son, Deshaun Blake defended his mother and told NBC2 that she had worked as an activity manager at ProMedica Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation in Naples for two years.

“She was friends with an old man and he died, but he gave her permission to cash some checks,” said Blake, who added,  “she was a good worker, always playing bingo and having fun. My mom wouldn’t exploit an old man!” ~ ABC-7 News

Massey told detectives that the victim gave her some of the checks as a return payment for money borrowed. She also claimed the victim asked her to withdraw money because he wanted to have cash on hand.  Detectives’ review of bank records debunked those claims.

(Source and Tracey Anna Massey booking photo: CCSO)

Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today   /   Follow Richard on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram