Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn announces that 41-year-old Latonia N. Turner of Buffalo was sentenced this afternoon before State Supreme Court Justice Debra Givens to 6 months of incarceration followed by 5 years of probation.
Between April 27, 2023 and June 8, 2023, the defendant, while working as a patient care aide at senior living facility in the Town of Amherst, stole an elderly resident’s debit card by going through a purse while the victim was asleep. The defendant fraudulently used the debit card to make 55 unauthorized ATM withdrawals from the victim’s bank account. The defendant was able to gain access to the account because the victim had written her personal identifying number for the debit card on a piece of paper, which was also inside of her purse.
The crime was uncovered after the victim reviewed her checking account statement and reported the fraudulent transactions to the bank. The bank reimbursed the victim for the loss, which totaled $41,216.
During the investigation, the defendant subsequently confessed to law enforcement. Surveillance videos from the bank and the senior facility corroborated the crime.
Turner pleaded guilty to one count of Grand Larceny in the Third Degree (Class “D” felony), the highest sustainable charge, on August 8, 2023. As part of the plea agreement, Turner signed a Confession of Judgment to pay full restitution to the bank. To date, she has paid no restitution. Today, Judge Givens ordered the defendant to pay the full amount of $41,216 within 90 days after her release from custody. Due to the felony conviction, she also lost her ability to be employed as a patient care aide in the future.
“Anyone can become the victim of a financial crime, so I encourage everyone to take extra precautions to safeguard their personal information. Please, do not write passwords or personal identifying numbers on your debit card or anywhere that can be easily found by a scammer,” said Erie County DA John Flynn.
DA Flynn commends Detective Julian Chinana of the Amherst Police Department for his work in this investigation.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Christopher P. Jurusik of the Special Investigations and Prosecutions (SIP) Bureau.