Prosecutors: Nurse Steals $350K From 94-Year-Old; Buys Benz, Remodels Kitchen

A local nursing assistant has been charged with stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from a 94-year-old Chicago man diagnosed with dementia.

They say Carmelita Pasamba, 62, fraudulently gained access to the victim's money and used it to remodel her home, give to her family and purchase a new Mercedes Benz vehicle, according to Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez's office. She is charged is with financial exploitation of a senior citizen, which is a Class 1 felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

Pasamba’s husband, Edgardo Pasamba, 63, has also been charged with financial exploitation of a senior citizen—a Class 3 felony—and her sister, Jocelyn Varga Baker, 47 is charged with theft—a Class 2 felony—for their role in bilking the victim out of more than $300,000.

Pasamba, Edgardo Pasamba and Baker appeared before a Cook County Judge on Thursdy. Their bails were set at $350,000, $50,000 and $200,000, respectively.

According to court records, Carmelita Pasamba is a certified nursing assistant who worked at St. Joseph Hospital, 2900 N. Lake Shore Drive, between February 1996 and September 2011. She came to the United States in 1997 on a Visitor/Working Visa from the Philippines, police said.

She is not a United States citizen and has never received an extension for her Visa but lives in Chicago with her husband.

The victim in the case is a 94-year-old retired civil engineer who worked for the city of Chicago. He owned a condominium locally and had investments including stocks, bonds, money markets and annuities.

In March 2007, he was diagnosed with dementia by his personal physician. From that point forward, the victim lacked the capacity to sign any legal documents or participate in any financial transactions, police say.

According to prosecutors, the victim was hospitalized at St. Joseph Hospital in 2008. Pasamba worked on the floor where he was and cared for him during his stay. After he was discharged, the victim required in-home assistance and Pasamba offered to work for him. 

She became the victim’s in-home caregiver on Jan. 28, 2008, police said. She subsequently hired her daughter and sister, Jocelyn Vargas Baker, to help her provide his 24-hour care.

In April 2008, just three months after meeting the victim, Pasamba asked an attorney affiliated with the Filipino community to draft a Power of Attorney and to change the victim’s estate planning documents he had executed 13 years earlier, police said.

The state's attorney's office released the following information on Friday:

"On April 24, 2008, a Power of Attorney for Property, a pour-over will, and a trust document were executed at the attorney’s office. The Power of Attorney gave Carmelita Pasamba complete control over the victim’s assets. The new will named Edgardo Pasamba as Executor. The new trust named Carmelita Pasamba as successor trustee upon the victim’s death; and named Carmelita Pasamba, her family and charities affiliated with the attorney in the Filipino Community, as the main beneficiaries of the trust upon the victim’s death. "

According to court records, Pasamba spent more than a quarter of a million dollars of the victim’s money on herself and her family.

She reportedly gave loans that were never paid back, bought new furniture, rehabbed her home, purchased new electronics and got a new Mercedes-Benz motor vehicle.

On May 8, 2008—just two weeks after become the victim’s POA—she wrote a check to herself for $30,000 from the victim’s bank account, police said. A month later, she reportedly gave herself another $25,000. She called these transactions "loans" and used the money to remodel her kitchen and basement. Pasamba never paid the "loans" back, prosecutors say.

Pasamba later acted as POA for the sale of the victim’s Chicago condominium, in which he was to receive $189,010.70. She paid herself $50,000 cash out of the proceeds, which she called a "bonus," according to police. Between Sept. 1, 2008 to July 6, 2011, Pasamba paid herself a salary of $5,500.00 per month for her duties as POA. Those earnings totaled $170,000.  

According to prosecutors, between May 2008 and October 2009, she used the victim’s money to "loan" money totaling $51,000 to her sister, Jocelyn Vargas Baker, which was never paid back. Baker was also the victim’s caretaker at that time.

Pasamba also hired her husband, Edgardo Pasamba, to be the victim’s driver. In April 2009, the victim sold his 2000 Buick motor vehicle to Edgardo Pasamba for $2,000. He never paid the victim for the motor vehicle, prosecutors say.

In all, Pasamba spent about $350,000 of the victim’s money on herself and her family during the three and a half years she acted as his POA.

The three are next scheduled to be in court on April 25.

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