Woman who stole from assisted living residents gets 40 months
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CHICAGO (FOX 32 News) -
The former manager of a west suburban assisted living facility was sentenced to more than three years in prison Friday for stealing more than $8,000 from residents she oversaw.
Judge Kathryn Creswell sentenced Linda Cottrell, 37, of 891 Victory Ln. in Justice to 40 months in prison, according to the DuPage County State's Attorney's office. Cottrell entered a blind plea of guilty on Nov. 15 to one count of financial exploitation of a person with a disability.
Prosecutors claimed the former house manager of the Cupertino Home in Warrenville took residents' ATM cards from a safe without permission, and used them to withdraw funds for personal use. Another employee discovered the thefts and notified administrators, who did an internal audit before notifying prosecutors, a release from the state's attorney's office said.
Cottrell was charged with stealing $7,698.85 from one resident; $515.40 from a second; $524.20 from a third; and $110.00 from another, for a total loss of $8,848.45, according to prosecutors. ALong with her prison sentence, she was ordered to repay that full amount.
By law, she must serve at least 50 percent of the sentence before being eligible for parole, and must serve two years of supervised release when she is released from prison.
"Ms. Cottrell stole thousands of dollars from individuals who had placed a great amount of trust in her," state's attorney Robert Berlin said in a statement. "Thanks to authorities at the Cupertino Home, however, her disgraceful actions were uncovered and she will now spend the next 40 months of her life behind bars for what she did."
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