Former Loretto employee accused of stealing from resident trust account

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — A former finance associate at Loretto is under arrest for allegedly stealing from a trust account established for residents’ funds.

New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced the arrest and arraignment of Tequilla Miller in a news release issued Monday.

Miller faces charges of grand larceny in the third degree and falsifying business records in the first degree.

The 28-year-old faces up to seven years in prison if convicted on the changes, Schneiderman’s office said.

Loretto is a network of agencies providing long-term care services for older adults in Central New York, according to its website.

Miller served as Loretto’s “resident banker,” maintaining the account and handling residents’ personal funds on a daily basis.

An audit of the account discovered a shortage of $21,488 over a period of 20 months, from November 2012 through August 2014, Schneiderman’s office said.

All nursing homes maintain a resident trust account for the benefit of their residents. These personal funds are co-mingled into a single account and held at a local bank, according to Schneiderman’s office.

Loretto keeps individual records for the benefit of each resident, along with a “small amount” of cash for daily resident use.

After Miller went on maternity leave, Loretto conducted a review of the cash available in the safe and noted a “substantial alleged discrepancy,” Schneiderman’s office said.

The investigation revealed that on “several occasions,” Miller allegedly made false entries into the cash-accounting sheet in order to hide the theft of several thousands of dollars.

Schneiderman’s office accuses Miller of stealing an average of $1,000 a month, which she allegedly used for personal expenses.

“Nursing home residents across New York entrust financial control to those who are trained and paid to care for them, and those staff members must honor that trust,” Schneiderman said in the news release. “We will not tolerate those who seek to exploit nursing homes and their residents for personal financial gain.”

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com