Caretaker accused of exploiting vulnerable adult

DUNCAN — A 59-year-old Stephens County woman is wanted for allegations she exploited a vulnerable adult in her care.

The Stephens County District Court issued a felony arrest warrant Tuesday for Karen Sue Henry, of Duncan, for a count of financial exploitation by a caretaker, records indicate. The crime is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and/or a fine up to $10,000 plus restitution.

Duncan Police Detective Sgt. Suzannahe Smith investigated the case regarding an elderly woman who is the recipient of an ADvantage Waiver which is a Medicaid program that provides alternatives to placement in a nursing facility for eligible adults who are frail, elderly adults and adults with physical disabilities 21 and older. Henry had been her assigned personal care assistant to assist with grocery shopping, household chores and other tasks, the warrant affidavit states.

A DHS Client Advocacy Investigator told Smith it was learned that Henry repeatedly used the woman’s food stamps, leaving her without adequate resources for herself. Henry had admitted to using the food stamps but told the investigator she’d paid the woman back by using her own food stamps, the warrant states. She said it was an agreed upon practice, Smith stated.

It was also learned the woman had given Henry cash to pay bills and for dining out though the investigator said the woman needed all of her financial resources to meet her own monthly obligations, according to the affidavit.

Henry admitted to borrowing $100 to $150 from the woman that she didn’t pay back but denied taking the $500 to $800 she’d been accused of taking, Smith stated. Henry also was caught sleeping on the job on several occasions and was accused of failing to do all the cleaning she was hired to do, the affidavit states. Other clients of Henry’s in the same building also made similar complaints of coercion and misuse of their resources but declined to report it out of fear and fear of embarrassment, Smith stated.

Henry had been the woman’s caretaker for over a year-and-a-half, according to the affidavit.