Missouri Attorney General issued the following announcement on April 24.
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt announced today that Mary McDonald of Bismark, Missouri, was ordered by the St. Francois County Circuit Court to pay $310,000 in restitution for financially exploiting a disabled resident who was under McDonald’s care. This is one of the largest restitution amounts secured by Attorney General Schmitt since he took office.
McDonald previously pled guilty to a Class A Felony—Financial Exploitation of a Disabled Person and a Class C Felony—Financial Abuse of a Medicaid Recipient. Pursuant to a plea agreement, McDonald was also sentenced to 15 years in the Missouri Department of Corrections, with execution of the sentence suspended, and placed on probation for a term of 5 years.
“Stealing hundreds of thousands from a disabled citizen is reprehensible, and I’m dedicated to holding those responsible for this fraud and theft accountable. Taking advantage of Missouri’s most vulnerable citizens will not be tolerated,” said Attorney General Schmitt. “I’m proud of what my office was able to accomplish in this case, and I’m pleased that Mary McDonald was brought to justice and the money was returned to the victim.”
McDonald formerly owned and operated a residential care facility, Chapel Ridge Living Center, in Mineral Point, Missouri. McDonald’s victim was a disabled resident of Chapel Ridge. In the Spring of 2015, the victim received a large sum of money. At the same time, McDonald and Chapel Ridge Living Center were experiencing financial difficulty. Throughout the Spring and Winter of 2015, McDonald pretended to be the victim’s friend, gained the victim’s trust, and through a series of purported loans, took $310,000 from the victim.
McDonald was charged on January 9, 2017 with Financial Exploitation of a Disabled Person and Financial Abuse of a Medicaid Recipient. At that time, and until her sentencing on April 19, 2019, McDonald had not repaid the victim any of the money. Upon McDonald’s sentencing, she paid $310,000 in restitution to the victim.
The case was referred to the Missouri Attorney General by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, Section for Long Term Care.
The case was investigated by Sarah Johnson of the Missouri Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and prosecuted by Assistant Attorneys General Brad Crowell and Shannon Kempf.
Original source can be found here.