KB News Desk
A caregiver in her 70s has received a suspended prison sentence for taking more than 20 million won ($14,000) from an elderly dementia patient she had cared for, the Cheongju District Court said Sunday.
The court sentenced the woman to 2 1/2 years in prison, suspended for four years, after finding her guilty of quasi-fraud, violating the Specialized Credit Finance Business Act, forging a private document and using the forged document.
Quasi-fraud applies to cases in which a person exploits a minor or a person with diminished mental abilities.
The woman syphoned off more than 20 million won from the patient’s bank account through 85 transactions using the victim’s debit card in March and April 2024.
Investigators found that on the day she learned the patient was to enter a nursing home, the caregiver took the patient to a bank, had the patient’s time deposit canceled and obtained a debit card in the patient’s name.
Of the more than 20 million won taken, more than 8 million won was transferred to an account held in the name of the caregiver’s younger sibling.
The judge said the sentence reflected the relatively small amount of actual financial loss and the fact that the defendant had no previous convictions.
Prosecutors have appealed the ruling.
