Chepachet Woman Charged with Stealing from Mentally Disabled in Smithfield

The RI Attorney General's office has charged a community living aid at the Rogler Farm Road Group Home in Smithfield with stealing $393 from mentally disabled men in her care to spend on clothes.

Caren Thompson, 49, with a last known address of 100 Money Hill Road, Chepachet, was arraigned in Providence Superior Court on Friday, Aug. 23, on one count of wrongful conversion over $100 by a government employee.

The AG's Medicaid Fraud Control and Patient Abuse Unit alleges that on or about Oct. 2, 2012, Thompson, a community living aid at the Rogler Farm Group Home at 1 Rogler Farm Road, took about $393 from the personal needs accounts of two male residents for the purchase of women’s clothing for her own use. The group home is a state-operated facility managed by Zambarano Hospital, a division of the Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals (BHDDH).

The matter was referred to the Office’s Medicaid Fraud Control and Patient Abuse Unit by BHDDH. Thompson was released on $10,000 personal recognizance bail and is scheduled for a pre trial conference on Oct. 16, 2013.