The former caretaker for a 92-year-old woman was sentenced recently to 30 months in federal prison for defrauding her elderly client out of thousands of dollars.
U.S. District Court Judge Rosemary Márquez sentenced Margaret Gastelum to prison for defrauding the homebound woman and also ordered Gastelum to pay $184,648 in restitution for the victim’s losses. Gastelum had pleaded guilty to wire fraud.
Gastelum and her daughter, co-defendant Mona Lisa Rodriguez, provided home-care assistance for the victim.
In her plea agreement, Gastelum admitted that she and Rodriguez gained access to the victim’s banking information and fraudulently used funds from the victim’s bank accounts.
Gastelum and Rodriquez further fraudulently used the victim’s credit cards and overcharged for elder care services without the victim’s knowledge.
Rodriquez also previously entered a guilty plea for her involvement in the scheme, and is scheduled for sentencing Sept. 24.
The indictment said Gastelum and Rodriguez exploited the victim out of nearly $200,000 — including thousands of dollars in holiday bonuses and gifts, $2,000 at a jewelry store and more than $700 at Victoria’s Secret.
Both women charged the victim $36,000 each per year for their services, according to court documents.
The offenses began in June 2016 through January 2018 when the caregivers first began caring for the widow, whose husband died in 2009, court documents state. She was living in her home in SaddleBrooke and received in-home care in 2015 provided by a Tucson company.
Gastelum, 59, was an employee of the business and Rodriguez, 36, also provided care, the documents say.
In 2016, the elderly woman decided to sell her home and temporarily move into an apartment at an assisted-living facility on the northwest side. Gastelum and Rodriguez continued to provide care for the widow, and “both overcharged her for their services without E.W.’s (the victim) full knowledge and consent,” the indictment stated.
The mother and daughter also persuaded the widow in June 2016 to move into a rental house, which was less expensive than the assisted-living facility. The women provided care for the widow and continued to overcharge for their services, the indictment states.
In September 2016, the widow’s home sold for $245,000, and $197,550 was wired into her bank account, according to documents. Prosecutors said in a sentencing memorandum that much of the money that Gastelum and Rodriguez misappropriated came from proceeds from the sale of the victim’s house.
The following June, Gastelum and Rodriguez moved the widow into Gastelum’s house on Tucson’s south side, where she lived with Gastelum’s family. The victim was removed from the home by Adult Protective Services, documents state.
Gastelum and Rodriguez also gained access to the widow’s bank account and credit cards and obtained credit cards in their own names using the widow’s account to pay the charges.
