In-home aide charged for forging checks on account of 93-year-old client

NC GAZETTE / WBRT RADIO
STAFF REPORT

LESLIE ANN JOHNSON

Monday, Feb. 9, 2015, 11 a.m. — A Botland woman was arrested Friday by Bardstown Police and accused of forging checks stolen from an elderly woman she worked for as an in-home aide.

Leslie Ann Johnson, 47, was charged with receiving stolen property, theft by unlawful taking, knowingly exploiting an adult over $300, and tampering with physical evidence following a police investigation of a complaint that a 93-year-old woman’s bank checks were stolen and forged to buy gift cards.

The investigation began Feb. 2 when the woman’s son reported to police that someone stole his mother’s checks and had written checks on her account totaling nearly $2,000. Using surveillance video, police determined the suspect forged the checks to buy gift cards at an Elizabethtown Wal-Mart. Police then determined that Johnson used the gift cards to make purchases at the Bardstown Wal-Mart.

Johnson was identified as an independent contractor who had been serving as a sitter in the home of the victim. Police executed a search warrant at Johnson’s home and found an unwritten, stolen check from the victim. They also found a checkbook and personal information belonging to someone else and purchase receipts.

The investigation is continuing. Anyone with additional information on this case is asked to contact Bardstown Police, (502) 348-6811 or Nelson County Dispatch, (502) 348-3211.

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