Saturday, December 20, 2008

Caretaker stole thousands from man with CP

From 10 TV News in Ohio:

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Police said that a missing roll of quarters helped a disabled patient discover that his caretaker had stolen thousands of dollars from him, 10TV's Maureen Kocot reported.

According to police, Darren Wray was hired to take care of a man who suffered from cerebral palsy. Wray and his patient were together every day.

"There were nights that (Wray) would stay nights at his house," said Columbus police Det. Wyatt Wilson. "While he slept (Wray) would play video games, be on his computer and so forth."

At one point, the patient noticed a missing roll of quarters and contacted the company that employed Wray. Police then uncovered several crimes that he had allegedly committed, Kocot reported.

Police said that on Dec. 2, Wray attempted to purchase a car from a Columbus car dealership. When Wray did not qualify for car financing, police said he forged the patient's signature on paperwork.

"He had told the dealership that it was his grandfather and he was unable to come in because he had Parkinson's disease," Wilson said.

In addition to forging the patient's signature, court documents allege that Wray altered a copy of the victim's driver's license. It is also alleged that Wray made a down payment of $6,000 using a credit card in the patient's name, Kocot reported.

Detectives credited the auto dealer for spotting the fraud the next day.

"They recognized some of the documents didn't look right and they called him to bring the car back," Wilson said.

Wray, who faces felony charges of forgery and misuse of credit card, is scheduled to appear in court later this month.