AUSTINTOWN Woman charged with scheme to bilk nursing-home residents

The woman suspected of the theft now works at another local nursing home.
By IAN HILL
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
AUSTINTOWN -- She died in September 1998, but the checks from the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation kept coming. By June, the 65-year-old former resident of Austinwoods Nursing Center had been sent 86 workers' compensation checks worth a total of $38,621.
Police allege that Janice Lawton, 40, a former Austinwoods billing manager, was getting the checks as part of a scheme to steal money from three Austinwoods residents, including the 65-year-old woman. Lawton stole or misappropriated a total of $73,384.60 as part of the scheme, police contend.
The money had been designated to pay for nursing-home services for the three Austinwoods residents.
On Monday afternoon, police arrested Lawton, of Kenmore Avenue, Warren, and charged her with two counts of felony theft. She is scheduled to be arraigned at 6 p.m. Dec. 17 in Mahoning County Court in Austintown.
Lawton was arrested at Ron Joy Nursing Home in Boardman, where she works in admissions and billings.
She later told special agents from the attorney general's office that the misappropriation of the workers' compensation money was a mistake and that she is innocent of the thefts.
Fired: Lawton was fired from her job as billing manager at Austinwoods Nursing Center in July after administrators discovered evidence that she had misappropriated the money. Police reports state that an Austinwoods administrator called the Ohio Attorney General's office after learning that Lawton had asked a woman to write a check to her, instead of Austinwoods, for nursing-home services.
The woman had power of attorney over an 82-year-old Austinwoods resident.
An investigation by Austintown Detective Sgt. Frank Tomasino and the Ohio Attorney General's office found that Lawton also had asked the son of a 91-year-old Austinwoods resident to pay for services in cash. Meanwhile, money had been deposited from the workers' compensation checks in the accounts of 38 Austinwoods residents, including the 82- and 91-year-old residents. Some of the money also was used to pay a debt the 65-year-old owed the nursing home.
Nursing home comments: In a written statement issued Wednesday, Ron Joy Administrator Felix Savon said, "We are 100 percent convinced of Mrs. Lawton's innocence."
"My accountant and I were made aware of this allegation by Mrs. Lawton herself at the time of her initial interview," Savon said. "At that time, we made the decision to hire her based solely on her qualifications because we feel a person is innocent unless proven guilty by a court of law."
Kathy Prasad, the owner of Austinwoods, stressed that her staff called the attorney general's office immediately after learning of the misappropriation.
"Obviously, we think we run a pretty tight ship that we were able to suspect something," she said. "We don't, obviously, tolerate that."
Prasad added that Lawton was working at Austinwoods when she took control of the facility in 1996. As a result, Lawton was not subject to a background check under her watch.
Advice: John Saulitis, the director of the long-term care ombudsman program for District XI Area Agency on Aging, noted that the only nursing facility employees required to undergo a background check by Ohio law are those who deal directly with patients. However, Saulitis also said that before placing a family member in a nursing facility, local residents may want to ask the facility's administrators if they run background checks on all employees.
"Just to make sure there isn't a history there," he said.
The Area Agency on Aging is a private, nonprofit organization that coordinates services for people 60 or older in Ohio. District XI includes Ashtabula, Trumbull, Mahoning and Columbiana counties.
Saulitis also said local residents should be suspicious if a relative in a nursing facility repeatedly says he is short of money. That could be a sign that their money is being taken from them against their will, he said.
In addition, Saulitis said local residents should pay close attention to nursing-home bills to ensure they are not being charged for services their relative does not receive.
Eric Hardgrove, a spokesman for the attorney general's office, said about 20 people are indicted in Ohio each year for theft related to a nursing home.
hill@vindy.com