A home healthcare worker in court pleaded guilty Wednesday to forgery as her husband is now facing charges for his alleged part in the scheme against a grandmother in her 90s.
For the last two years health care workers have tended to Bryan Bownik’s now 98-year-old mother, including Tara Simpson in May.
“In fact of all the people that came she seem to be one of the best very caring and make sure that my mother was down for her naps each day,” Bryan Bownik said.
But it was during those naps he says Simpson took advantage of his mother.
“She had found—I imagine—several checks or a book of checks which I had missed when trying to get the valuables out of the house when we knew we were going to have caregivers,” Bownik said.
According to police, Tara Simpson and her husband, Kevin, drove to four US Bank branches around the metro to cash the forged checks. In total, prosecutors said they stole more than $7,300.
“When the bank actually found three or four checks in a row that were written they stopped payment on the fourth one and it was actually a very alert banker that found out what was happening,” Bownik said.
Bownik decided to press charges.
“Although the service called everyone in the area there's nothing from preventing them to go to a different county or even a different state and doing the same thing to someone else,” Bownik said.
Unfortunately, the elderly can be vulnerable targets.
"Financial abuse and exploitation is a growing issue,” said Leslie Hale, with the adult protective services division of the Kansas Department of Families.
If you’re looking into getting a home healthcare worker, experts recommend checking court records, calling references and searching state registries
“We’re very blessed in the area to have wonderful agencies but it unfortunately takes one bad apple to spoil a bunch,” Bownik said.
The agency that hired Simpson, Preferred Care at Home, told 41 Action News in a statement that she’s no longer with them.
“Tara was fairly new to my company and she had come highly recommended, having an extensive history as a caregiver. I was very saddened and disappointed to learn about what Tara did. As a home care provider, as someone who has served this community and its residents for over 19 years, I take my responsibility to my community very seriously. This was something that shook me to my core. After I was made aware of her actions, I worked closely with our client’s family, the State, and authorities to ensure justice could be carried out as quickly as possible,” said Joe Passantino, Owner of Preferred Care at Home of KCMO
Simpson’s sentencing is set for Mid-January. Her husband bond is set for $20,000.
---
Andres Gutierrez can be reached at andres.gutierrez@kshb.com
