A 44-year-old nursing assistant was arrested after authorities discovered she allegedly used at least two Berkeley nursing home residents' debit cards to make more than 100 fraudulent purchases over a period of several months.
Berkeley Police Department detectives were contacted on Sept. 23 by the adult son of a 73-year-old resident who had received assistance at Kyakameena Care Center located at 2131 Carleton Street, according to a department statement.
The resident's son reported to police that he discovered his mother's debit card had been stolen and had been used to make more than $10,000 worth of purchases between April 2022 and August. The son also reported he made the discovery after the rent to his mother's apartment had not been paid due to insufficient funds in her account.
The BPD was also contacted on Oct. 20 by the brother of a 70-year-old resident who had stayed at Kyakameena Care Center before her death. The man also reported finding several fraudulent purchases made from his sister's account in the week she passed away.
During an investigation into the reports, detectives linked several of the fraudulent purchases and cash withdrawals to Kyiesha Renee Carter of Oakland, who worked at Kyakameena Care Center as a nursing assistant.
BPD units arrested Carter on Nov. 22 outside of the care facility, and she was booked at Berkeley City Jail for identity theft, grand theft, financial elder abuse by a caregiver and unauthorized use of a debit card.
Carter is scheduled to appear at Wiley W. Manuel Courthouse in Oakland on Dec. 12, according to the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office.
