Manager of care facilities in Minnesota charged with forging checks of disabled residents

From The Star-Tribune in Minneapolis:

A manager at two Elk River, Minn., care facilities forged dozens of checks for thousands of dollars last year using the accounts of several mentally disabled residents, police and state health officials said July 13.

The manager was fired and the facilities have overhauled their audit procedures, officials said.

The 11 residents at MacGregor Place and Lavine Place, both owned by Opportunity Partners of Minnetonka, had a combined $9,000 stolen during the second half of 2009, the investigators determined.

Michelle Moreland, 45, of Big Lake, Minn., has been charged with felony financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult, said Police Chief Jeff Beahen. Moreland is accused of forging about 50 checks, the chief said.

State Health Department reports say Moreland was fired after confessing to police in March, though they do not identify her by name.

At the time of the thefts, employees were listed on residents' checking accounts as "signers," according to state investigators. When a resident needed money, employees wrote out checks to "cash" and moved the money into the resident's account at the home. The system was to be audited quarterly.

The unauthorized checks ranged from $100 to $500, according to the criminal complaint filed in May. Moreland told police she would take the cash from forged checks and obtain money orders to pay her bills, the complaint added.

In a statement, Opportunity Partners pointed out that the thefts were detected by its own "internal auditing procedures" and that all residents have been reimbursed.

Opportunity Partners provides training, employment and services to about 1,500 people in the Twin Cities area with developmental disabilities, brain injury, autism and other conditions.

The state ordered the facilities to tighten procedures for handling clients' money. Investigators found one of the homes was behind in audits of residents' accounts. Also, federal guidelines recommend the checks should be made out to a specific person and not to cash.