GREENFIELD — A former home health nurse stole checks from her patients and went shopping while still in her scrubs, according to police.
Dominique D. Johns, 24, 120 Berry St., Apartment B, Greenfield, was arrested late last week on four counts of forgery, all Level 6 felonies, one count of attempted forgery as a Level 6 felony and one count of fraud on a financial institution as a Level 5 felony.
Three families reported Johns had stolen checks from the bank accounts of their family members she was caring for, according to police reports. Johns had worked in the homes of the reported victims when she was employed with an area home health care company, police said.
One woman told police Johns stole and forged her husband’s signature on nine checks taken from the couple’s home, court records state.
Between September and mid-November, nine checks were written to Walmart on State Street totaling more than $2,000, and the victim hadn’t authorized any of those expenditures, the couple told police, according to charging documents.
In another instance, she spent about $640 at the Walmart on State Street and paid using a check she stole from another man, according to court records.
Two days before she visited the store, Johns had been at the victim’s home, taking care of his sick wife, he told police.
Surveillance video from the store shows Johns making the purchase. At the time, she was wearing scrubs, court documents state.
A third victim told police Johns had cashed a $350 check written from her account. Neither of the people whose names appear on the account had written the check to Johns, court records state.
A few days later, Johns admitted to the family member she had stolen the check and gave back $340 of the $350 she took, she told police, court records state.
Last week, Johns attempted to cash a check for $800 written to her from one of the victim’s checking accounts, which had been closed, leading bank employees to alert other banks in the area. When Johns attempted to cash the check at a different bank, police were called, court documents state.
Police searched Johns’ purse and found several checks she had used to make purchases, according to court documents.
As of press time, Johns remained in the Hancock County Jail on a $2,000 bond.
The Level 5 felony count she faces carries a penalty of one to six years and up to $10,000 in fines, while the Level 6 felonies she faces carry a penalty of six months to two and a half years.
