None — She's called a "visiting angel," but one patient said she's no angel. A caretaker, who was hired to help an ailing woman, was arrested. Police said Tuesday that caretaker Sherry Pearce was helping herself to the money in her client's checking account.
Pearce worked for a company called Visiting Angels, and her primary duty was to take care of a woman fighting all kinds of health problems. Instead, police said, 48-year-old Pearce stole from her clients and is now in the Orange County jail.
For two years, police said, Pearce made daily trips to the Winter Garden home. She wasn't a nurse, but a hired caretaker for homeowner Anita Mason. Mason had recently suffered a stroke, is partially blind, and has diabetes.
Anita's next door neighbor, Sandy Bushong, said she is shocked that Pearce is accused of ripping off the very woman she was supposed to be helping with chores and transportation.
Officers said Pearce was supposed to be using checks to pay Anita's bills; instead she was making out checks payable to herself. She's accused of cashing $14,500 worth of Anita's checks over a 2-month period at a Region's Bank.
But Anita caught on and called police.
Visiting Angels of Orlando said it did a Florida Department of Law Enforcement background check on Pearce and a private background check in Florida and North Carolina, where Pearce came from; her record came back clean.
Visiting Angels also pulled her off the job immediately when it heard about the allegations.
"I think it's very unfortunate, I really do. The seniors have enough problems to take care of. They don't need this to happen," Bushong said.
The State Attorney's Office said Pearce has agreed to a plea deal, no contest to exploitation of the elderly, theft and fraud. She will get 6 months in jail and four-and-a-half years of probation. She must also pay back the $14,500 she allegedly stole.
WFTV
