A Carrollton woman now faces charges in two counties for financial exploitation as a caregiver.
45-year old Sarah R. Baumgartner of Carrollton was charged on Thursday in Jersey County Court with two counts of financial exploitation of an elderly/disabled person, one count of forgery, and two counts of unlawful possession of a credit or debit card.
Riverbender reports that from April to May of 2023, Baumgartner allegedly carried out a series of deceptive criminal acts to fraudulently obtain money on behalf of two victims: an elderly victim and a disabled victim diagnosed with cerebral palsy. Baumgartner was a paid caregiver for both victims, placing her in a position of trust with them and resulting in the financial exploitation charges.
From April 1 to May 15, 2023, Baumgartner used the debit card of the disabled victim to defraud Jersey State Bank of between $500-$3,000. From April 22 to May 11 of the same year, she reportedly used the credit card of the elderly victim to carry out the same offense, defrauding the victim of $500-$3,000.
During the same time frame, she is also accused of writing herself a fraudulent $2,000 check and forging the elderly victim’s signature to defraud them and Carrollton Bank of the money.
The Illinois Attorney General’s Office presented the charges against Baumgartner. Her Jersey County case is being handled by the office’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.
Baumgartner was arrested on similar charges by Greenfield Police in February of last year. She faces two counts of financial exploitation of the elderly or disabled and three counts of forgery. Baumgartner was arrested by Greene County Sheriff’s Deputies in a traffic stop the following June for possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia, operating an uninsured motor vehicle, driving without a license, and a series of traffic infractions.
A pretrial hearing is set in the Greene County cases for Monday. A hearing on the Jersey County charges has not been set.