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More charges for woman accused in elderly fraud case
Police have filed additional charges against Johnna Hannah, who is accused of stealing tens of thousands of dollars from patients at an elderly care facility in Buchanan. Loved ones of one of 39 victims who police say she targeted in the massive fraud scheme.
BUCHANAN, Ga. - Johnna Hannah, who is accused of stealing tens of thousands of dollars from patients at an elderly care facility in Buchanan, is now facing additional charges.
The 28-year-old was already facing 78 felony counts of elder abuse and fraud charges after her initial arrest last month. Police in Buchanan said new evidence led them to seek eight more counts against her.
"Any kind of financial crime there is gonna be a large paper trail, so here we are," Police Chief David Ratner told FOX 5.
Paper trail leads to more elder fraud charges
Ratner said the paper trail just keeps getting longer in the case of Hannah, a former business manager at Countryside Health Center.
"I did four more counts of deposit account fraud as well as four more counts of exploitation of an elderly or disabled resident," the chief said.
Hannah stands accused of embezzling more than $60,000 from almost 40 patients at the nursing home over the year and a half she worked there. Some of the victims were no longer living.
Johnna Hannah (Supplied)
"I guess she thought she would never get caught," Ratner stated.
She was initially charged with theft by conversion, identity theft and financial transaction card fraud after a forensic audit of Countryside’s finances.
The police chief said a subpoena of her personal bank records revealed even more improprieties than they originally thought.
"I noticed one large check of over $10,000, so I dug into that and found out she’d actually taken the victim to Synovus Bank local branch, and he closed his account out."
Victim’s family ‘furious’ over elder fraud charges
Teresa Carter said that victim was her uncle. She told FOX 5 the money was supposed to go take care of him in his final days.
"I was very furious and very upset initially because it’s an older person, you know?" she recalled.
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Woman accused of stealing from elderly patients
Johnna Hanna, 28, faces nearly 80 counts of elderly abuse and fraud. Buchanan police say she stole more than $50,000 from accounts she managed at Countryside Healthcare.
Police said her uncle also had a number of pension checks stolen and his signature forged.
"You’re actually taking whatever little is left from somebody and stripping it from them, and he worked his whole life…his whole life for his money—and not that it was a ton of money, but it was his," she said.
While the investigation continues, Carter said she hopes it’s a wakeup call to anyone with family in a nursing home to keep a closer eye on their accounts.
Ratner told FOX 5 the investigation is far from over, and it’s very likely more charges could be filed. He also said officials at Countryside are working to repay the stolen money to the victims' families.