TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - A local nurse may have her license suspended after the Florida Department of Health filed a complaint against her, alleging that she used a elderly patient's debit card to pay her bills.
According to a complaint filed by the Florida Department of Health, they say that Myesha Leonard, who is an LPN, was employed as a certified nursing assistant by Hopewell In-Home Senior Care in Tallahassee.
They said that she provided in-home care for a 76-year-old patient through the company. While caring for the woman, Leonard had access to her debit card.
Around June 2016, the document said that the patient suffered a major stroke and was placed in a full-time care facility. They said that Leonard stopped providing car for the woman at this time.
A few months later, unauthorized charges began to appear on the patient's debit card account.
FDOH alleged that the charges included payments to Century Link, GEICO, Verizon, and Talquin Electric accounts that were in Leonard's name and were connected to her address.
The transactions totaled over $2,000.
Leonard told a detective who interviewed her that she had the patient's account number and routing number saved on her phone to use as a payment option. She admitted to using the account instead of her own to make payments without the patient's permission.
On January 18, 2017, Leon County deputies arrested Leonard for exploitation of the elderly, fraudulent use of personal ID, grand theft, and bank fraud.
Based on the evidence, the department said that Leonard could face discipline for unprofessional conduct and "employing a trick or scheme in or related to the practice of a profession."
As of now, Leonard's license has been placed on emergency restriction. She is scheduled for pre-trial case management conference on April 18th.
