April 22, 2008
Media Contact: Sandi Copes
Phone: (850) 245-0150
Owner of Madison County Assisted Living Facility Arrested for Exploiting Elderly Victim, Identity Theft
TALLAHASSEE, FL - Attorney General Bill McCollum today announced that the owner and operator of a Madison County assisted living facility was arrested and charged with multiple criminal charges, including exploitation of an elderly person, grand theft, forgery and identity theft. Authorities with the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and the Madison County Sheriff’s Office arrested Charles Troy Hendry, 47, who owns and operates Hughey Memorial Care Center in Madison County.
Investigators with the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit began investigating Hendry in March after receiving information from the Madison County Sheriff’s Office about the possible exploitation of an elderly person. The investigation revealed that Hendry used his access to at least one resident’s personal identification information in order to make numerous purchases and obtain services for himself or someone other than the victim. The victim was a 76-year old resident of Hughey Memorial Care Center located in Madison, Florida.
With the information he obtained, Hendry forged the victim’s name on two credit card cash advance checks totaling $5,500 and fraudulently applied for and opened two additional credit cards in the victim’s name, making purchases totaling $6,700. Additionally, Hendry forged at least three personal checks totaling $2,400. The total amount stolen was just under $15,000.
Hendry was booked into the Madison County Jail and is being charged with one count of exploiting an elderly person, four counts of grand theft, six counts of forgery, six counts of uttering, which is offering a forged instrument for payment of money, and two counts of identity theft. If convicted of all charges, Hendry could face up to 95 years in prison and $95,000 in fines. The case will be prosecuted by the State Attorney’s Office for the Third Judicial Circuit.