Detectives assigned to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office Economic Crimes Unit have arrested four suspects after uncovering a large-scale fraud scheme that targeted 14 elderly victims at three different assisted living facilities.
The ALFs were in St. Petersburg, Pinellas Park and Seminole.
According to a PCSO report, detectives began an investigation on June 30, 2022, after receiving a report of fraudulent use of a credit card from a victim living in an ALF. Detectives identified two suspects, 43-year-old Angella Jackson and her daughter, 28-year-old Lashantia Brown.
Both Jackson and Brown were employed at three different ALFs over a period of several months. Detectives said they learned that Jackson and Brown would take photos of the victims' debit cards and credit cards and then share the information via text message with one another.
They also discovered photos of a driver's license belonging to two elderly victims in Brown's cellphone. Detectives say there were multiple text message conversations between Jackson, Brown and two other suspects, later identified as 33-year-old Kanisha Altidor and 20-year-old Janorris Johnson.
All four suspects communicated via text message and benefited from the fraudulent activity.
Detectives say the suspects made various fraudulent purchases at Adventure Island, a T-Mobile store and an online shoe retailer. They also created a Spectrum (Charter Communications) account for a residence with the information. According to detectives, Jackson also stole $4,000.00 in cash from an elderly victim. The total loss was approximately $14,000.00.
Brown and Jackson were employed at the following assisted living facilities:
• Best Care Living at St. Pete (1001 9th St. North, St. Petersburg)
• Magnolia Gardens (3800 62nd Ave. North, Pinellas Park)
• The Villas of Casa Celeste (9225 82nd Ave., Seminole)
All four suspects were taken into custody on Feb. 23 and transported to the Pinellas County Jail.
