'Just absolute scum of the earth': Family upset after senior with dementia defrauded by someone posing as care worker
Seventy-nine-year-old William Herbert thought the woman coming to see him was a nurse who needed to do bloodwork.
But instead of helping him, it’s alleged she stole from him.
Herbert, who has dementia, was still living independently with support last March, when his niece received a phone call from a blocked number.
“A woman identified herself as … a nurse from Fraser Health,” explained Laura-Lee Herbert.
The caller said she’d be visiting Herbert's uncle the next day.
Herbert didn’t think much of it.
“We would have care aides that would go in there three or four times a day and we would have nurses from Fraser Health that would attend his residence once or twice a month,” Herbert said.
But a few days later, when she took her uncle to run errands and they stopped at his TD Bank branch in Surrey, she discovered his bank card was missing.
Inside the bank, a teller would explain that there was only $12 left in his account after someone had made three withdrawls.
“I was just flabbergasted,” Herbert said. “Thankfully, it wasn’t a huge amount, but $600 to someone who lives on pension is still $600.”
Herbert said her uncle is one of 21 alleged victims of a woman who police say posed as a care aide and a nurse, stealing from vulnerable seniors.
“This was a very extensive and complex investigation,” said Cpl. Vanessa Munn of the Surrey RCMP.
“In June 2022, the Surrey RCMP Financial Crime Unit launched an investigation following a fraud involving credit cards that were allegedly stolen from an elderly victim in Richmond,” she said.
Thirty-year-old Ana Chamdal is now facing 77 charges and is being held in custody.
“Some of those charges include fraud over $5,000, unlawfully in a dwelling house, assault, possession of forged documents, possession of stolen credit cards,” explained Munn.
All of the alleged victims are seniors.
Seventy-nine-year-old William Herbert thought the woman coming to see him was a nurse who needed to do bloodwork. But instead of helping him, it’s alleged she stole from him.
“We all have those elderly people in our lives that may be a little bit more vulnerable and potentially on fixed income, so being defrauded, it really does have a large impact on them,” she said. “We just want to remind members of our community about the importance of being in touch with your elderly loved ones, knowing who’s in their home caring for them, and you’re making sure you are taking steps to monitor their finances."
Meanwhile, Herbert said she is still battling her uncle’s bank, trying to get back what a fraudster took.
“Someone who does that to seniors, just absolute scum of the earth,” she said.
But more than that, she said the theft has left her elderly uncle afraid of the very health-care workers he now needs around the clock.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
World seeing near breakdown of international law amid wars in Gaza and Ukraine, Amnesty says
The world is seeing a near breakdown of international law amid flagrant rule-breaking in Gaza and Ukraine, multiplying armed conflicts, the rise of authoritarianism and huge rights violations in Sudan, Ethiopia and Myanmar, Amnesty International warned Wednesday as it published its annual report.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
U.S. Senate passes bill forcing TikTok's parent company to sell or face ban, sends to Biden for signature
The Senate passed legislation Tuesday that would force TikTok's China-based parent company to sell the social media platform under the threat of a ban, a contentious move by U.S. lawmakers that's expected to face legal challenges.
Wildfire southwest of Peace River spurs evacuation order
People living near a wildfire burning about 15 kilometres southwest of Peace River are being told to evacuate their homes.
U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passes aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan with big bipartisan vote
The U.S. Senate has passed US$95 billion in war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden after months of delays and contentious debate over how involved the United States should be in foreign wars.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.