Ex-caregiver ordered to pay nearly $7K in elder abuse case
Her former caregiver is in jail after pleading no contest to a charge of financial elder abuse.
But Barbara Gripp, who turns 80 this year, has lost her sense of trust when it comes to those charged with looking after her well-being.
“Cindy was the worst thing I've ever had to go through,” Gripp said of the ordeal that led to the conviction and sentencing of Cynthia Ann Milhous.
Milhous currently is serving 180 days in jail. After a lengthy restitution hearing, Nevada County Superior Court Judge R.M. Smith ruled Milhous owes Gripp $6,784. She will be allowed to apply for alternative sentencing once she repays at least $1,000. She also received five years' probation and will not be allowed to provide care-giving services while she is on probation. Milhous also just received counseling for gambling issues.
Milhous is not associated with Milhous Children's Services.
These days, Gripp is being taken care of by Judy Gede, the person who helped bring Milhous to the attention of the authorities.
Gede had taken care of Gripp in the past, but left in 2007. Gripp then hired Milhous, who quickly fired any other caregiver.
“Cindy's manner was insidious,” Gede said. “She took Barbara under her wing. She made her feel like she was part of her family; she told her that she would take care of her.”
Soon, it was a downhill slide, with Milhous allegedly working to isolate Gripp and make her as physically dependent as possible.
“Cindy had been telling people Barbara wouldn't make it past Christmas, she was failing fast, and that was in 2008,” Gede said.
Alarmed, Gede visited Gripp, who wouldn't get out of bed.
“I finally got a little backbone,” Gripp said, adding that she decided to rehire Gede. “Cindy didn't like that at all.”
After Gede came back, Gripp started to improve.
That was when she began to realize money was missing, Gripp said.
But Barbara Gripp, who turns 80 this year, has lost her sense of trust when it comes to those charged with looking after her well-being.
“Cindy was the worst thing I've ever had to go through,” Gripp said of the ordeal that led to the conviction and sentencing of Cynthia Ann Milhous.
Milhous currently is serving 180 days in jail. After a lengthy restitution hearing, Nevada County Superior Court Judge R.M. Smith ruled Milhous owes Gripp $6,784. She will be allowed to apply for alternative sentencing once she repays at least $1,000. She also received five years' probation and will not be allowed to provide care-giving services while she is on probation. Milhous also just received counseling for gambling issues.
Milhous is not associated with Milhous Children's Services.
These days, Gripp is being taken care of by Judy Gede, the person who helped bring Milhous to the attention of the authorities.
Gede had taken care of Gripp in the past, but left in 2007. Gripp then hired Milhous, who quickly fired any other caregiver.
“Cindy's manner was insidious,” Gede said. “She took Barbara under her wing. She made her feel like she was part of her family; she told her that she would take care of her.”
Soon, it was a downhill slide, with Milhous allegedly working to isolate Gripp and make her as physically dependent as possible.
“Cindy had been telling people Barbara wouldn't make it past Christmas, she was failing fast, and that was in 2008,” Gede said.
Alarmed, Gede visited Gripp, who wouldn't get out of bed.
“I finally got a little backbone,” Gripp said, adding that she decided to rehire Gede. “Cindy didn't like that at all.”
After Gede came back, Gripp started to improve.
That was when she began to realize money was missing, Gripp said.
Milhous charged with financial elder abuse
“When I finally started to review Barbara's financial statements, I was appalled,” Gede said.
Gripp fired Milhous as her caregiver in May 2008. Milhous eventually was charged with financial elder abuse and theft of an access card in early 2009.
At Milhous' restitution hearing, Nevada County Sheriff's Detective Ray Kress testified at length regarding amounts missing from Gripp's credit cards and bank accounts. One bank account showed more than $2,000 in withdrawals and payments to casinos, and a personal loan of $2,000 remains unpaid, Kress said.
Gripp was paying Milhous $2,500 a month; at the same time, Milhous was receiving nearly $2,400 a month from In Home Supportive Services. Milhous said $50,000 a year was not an unheard-of wage for a caregiver and added she worked more than eight hours a day.
In a videotaped interview from February 2009, Milhous told Kress that Gripp was a back-stabber — but she also called Gripp her second mother.
“Even though she's hurt me, I love her dearly,” Milhous said.
Milhous insisted she had Gripp's permission to use her bank cards and that she repaid any money she took.
“I never would have wanted to do something that was not right,” she said during the interview. “I honestly thought I had everything paid for.”
Gripp fired Milhous as her caregiver in May 2008. Milhous eventually was charged with financial elder abuse and theft of an access card in early 2009.
At Milhous' restitution hearing, Nevada County Sheriff's Detective Ray Kress testified at length regarding amounts missing from Gripp's credit cards and bank accounts. One bank account showed more than $2,000 in withdrawals and payments to casinos, and a personal loan of $2,000 remains unpaid, Kress said.
Gripp was paying Milhous $2,500 a month; at the same time, Milhous was receiving nearly $2,400 a month from In Home Supportive Services. Milhous said $50,000 a year was not an unheard-of wage for a caregiver and added she worked more than eight hours a day.
In a videotaped interview from February 2009, Milhous told Kress that Gripp was a back-stabber — but she also called Gripp her second mother.
“Even though she's hurt me, I love her dearly,” Milhous said.
Milhous insisted she had Gripp's permission to use her bank cards and that she repaid any money she took.
“I never would have wanted to do something that was not right,” she said during the interview. “I honestly thought I had everything paid for.”
Change in emotional state a warning sign
Gede said she believed about $40,000 remains unaccounted for.“I'll be honest,” Gripp said. “I didn't expect to see the amount I suspect she took. I'm surprised about getting more than the $2,000 (from the loan).”
Gripp testified at the restitution hearing, an ordeal she initially refused.
“Then I thought, (if I didn't testify) it would look like she beat me one more time,” Gripp said. “It was hard, but I was glad I did.”
Gripp, who suffers from rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia, said she's “in pretty good shape for the shape I'm in.”
She remains fearful of Milhous, who had her “emotionally beat down ... She did a real good job of yelling. I had to walk the straight and narrow.”
A change in an elder's emotional state is a clue that something is wrong, said Senior Victim Advocate Julie Choquette of Nevada County's Elder Abuse Outreach and Advocacy program.
“Do they seem more confused, nervous, more vulnerable?” Choquette said. “Is their affect changed in the presence (of the caregiver)?”
A caregiver assuming total control over the elder's activities and finances also is a warning sign, as is undue interest in the elder's medications, Choquette added.
“What's really hard is that a lot of times, the caregivers are friends or family members,” she said. “It's kind of a crime of opportunity, because elderly people can be vulnerable.”
Choquette urged anyone with concerns to call Adult Protective Services or her office. The Elder Abuse Outreach and Advocacy program can be reached at 265-1246.
SOURCE: The Union.Com
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