Belleville woman stole elderly patient’s ID to buy a Tesla. Now she’s going to prison
A Belleville woman was sentenced to 54 months in federal prison on Tuesday for identity theft, conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud and money laundering.
According to charging documents filed with the U.S. Court for the Southern District of Illinois, Ashley McKinney, 39, defrauded elderly women in southern Illinois with the help of her co-conspirator, Erica Rose, of East St. Louis.
A grand jury in 2020 alleged incidents occurred between February 2018 to November 2018 in St. Clair and Madison counties.
Rose was employed by CareLink, 122 Lincoln Place Court in Belleville, as an in-home aide. The nonprofit agency lists aide duties as assisting elderly clients with bathing, personal care, meal preparation, medication reminders and other daily living tasks.
Charging documents alleged Rose used her position to steal clients’ bank account numbers and identifying information and shared them with McKinney. The pair then used the stolen information to withdraw money from ATMs, deposit fraudulent checks, and make purchases for themselves.
In once incidence, court records state, McKinney tried to buy a used Tesla online after stealing the identity and savings of an 86-year-old woman from Belleville. When the deal fell through because the Tesla had mechanical problems, McKinney bought herself a Mercedes-Benz instead.
After she took possession of the vehicle, the charges state, the victim’s bank stopped payment on the counterfeit check and the online car dealer repossessed the car.
The pair were caught after numerous families reported identity theft to police shortly after Rose was caring for their loved one. In each case, McKinney was found committing fraud with the woman’s identity, according to a release from the federal court.
In November 2020, Rose, 36, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. She was later sentenced to one year and one day in prison and an additional two years of supervised release.
“While identity theft is always a serious crime, it’s particularly troubling when victims are elderly,” said United States Attorney Rachelle Crowe. “The crimes in this case went beyond financial loss. They impacted whole families during already difficult times. We will always prioritize holding defendants accountable who prey on vulnerable victims.”
According to its website, CareLink is part of Christian Horizons, a non-profit agency that has provided “faith-based health care services” for 52 years. In a prepared statement to the Belleville News-Democrat following the grand indictment, CareLink confirmed Rose worked for CareLink from December 2017 to November of 2018.
The statement also pledged the agency’s cooperation with the law enforcement investigation of Rose.
The investigation was conducted by detectives from the Edwardsville Police Department, Belleville Police Department, Swansea Police Department, and St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Luke J. Weissler.
This story was originally published November 23, 2022 at 12:03 PM.