A Bronx health aide was convicted on May 1 of stealing nearly $800,000 from the 86-year-old disabled patient she was taking care of in Queens.
Jackie A Pokuwaah, 53, convinced the victim to sign hundreds of checks made payable to her. Some of the checks noted that they were meant to be used for groceries or laundry.
After a weeklong jury trial, Pokuwaah now faces up to 15 years in prison on the conviction of five counts of second-degree grand larceny and five counts of second-degree criminal possession of stolen property.
An investigation into Pokuwaah started last year after two banks brought up concerns of fraud about the substantial checks she was cashing.
According to Queens District Attorney Richard Brown, Pokuwaah worked as an in-home aide of 86-year-old Renee Fuld—who is confined to a wheelchair, has limited use of her hands and suffers from cognitive impairment—and was paid an annual salary of approximately $81,000.
Pokuwaah assisted her with daily tasks, and over the course of Pokuwaah’s employment, she began to manage Fuld’s daily finances.
In addition to Pokuwaah’s salary, Fuld would write out other checks made payable to the defendant in order to pay for the patient’s food, laundry and other expenses.
Fuld relied upon Pokuwaah to tell her what the checks were for and the amounts.
A thorough review of Fuld’s bank account indicated that checks totaling over $791,054 — excluding the defendant’s annual salary — had been made payable to Pokuwaah between Jan. 1, 2007, and March 14, 2011.
In one instance, a check for $1,700 carried a notation indicating that it was for ice cream.
Other checks routinely written for exorbitant amounts indicated they were for such things as laundry and groceries.
Pokuwaah has been in jail in lieu of $25,000 bail since her arrest last year. She will be sentenced on May 22.
By Jeremiah Dobruck
j.dobruck@theforumnewsgroup.com
