A former nurse's aide at the Heritage Pointe assisted living facility in Omaha is behind bars after authorities say she stole and used the credit cards of three senior residents to make more than $20,000 in purchases.
Douglas County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Tom Wheeler says the case began to unfold on November 13th when they were alerted to several unauthorized charges on various bank and credit card accounts belonging to residents of the assisted living facility at 168th and Burdette.
Heritage Pointe contacted the Sheriff’s Office after family members of a resident noticed several unauthorized purchases through Amazon as well as payments made on MUD and OPPD accounts not belonging to the victim. Heritage Pointe provided information regarding a nurse’s aide, identified as 38 year old Dallas Baring, as a possible suspect.
On November 26th, Sheriff’s Office investigators interviewed Baring who admitted to using a resident’s information to make payments to MUD, OPPD and Amazon. Investigators say Baring made more than 70 unauthorized purchases on the victim’s credit card totaling $5,532.01. Baring was arrested for Unauthorized Use of a Financial Transaction Device - more than $5,000 and Vulnerable Adult Abuse. Both are felonies.
After Baring’s arrest, two additional victims living at Heritage Pointe reported similar unauthorized purchases totaling $6,534.85 and $8,000 respectively. During this investigation, investigators conducted a search warrant on Baring’s residence.
"It's very troubling," Wheeler says. "These seniors were seniors who had dementia and they were just completely taken advantage of. There literally some of the most vulnerable people in our community."
Wheeler says they recovered more than 30 items including clothing, jewelry, electronics, accessories and religious items suspected of being purchased through Amazon. Additional charges against Baring are pending. A fourth possible victim has been identified. That case remains under investigation.