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DeKALB – A former certified nursing assistant at the DeKalb County Rehabilitation and Nursing Center was arrested Monday on forgery charges after police allege she defrauded the facility more than $16,000 by inflating the number of hours she worked, sheriff’s officials said.
Jasmine Anderson, 22, of the 1400 block of Twombly Road in DeKalb, is charged with two counts of forgery, a Class 3 felony, according to a Monday news release from the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office. If convicted, she could face up to a decade in jail and fines up to $25,000.
Anderson was arrested by sheriff’s deputies at a traffic stop Monday, DeKalb County Sheriff Andy Sullivan said. Anderson wasn’t currently working at the facility as a CNA at the time of her arrest, he said.
“We had just not been able to locate her until today,” Sullivan said. “We’ve been unable to get ahold of her for a couple weeks now, so she has not been working there.”
A warrant was issued for Anderson’s arrest June 9, according to DeKalb County court records. She’s being held on a $5,000 bond at the DeKalb County Jail. If she does not post 10%, or $500, before Tuesday, she’s expected to go before a judge in DeKalb County court who will rule on her bond amount.
Sullivan said Anderson’s arrest came after months of investigations, which continue as police and prosecutors work to determine whether any additional fraud occurred at the facility, which has struggled with money issues for months.
“That’s what we’re unsure of right now,” Sullivan said, as investigators work to determine whether Anderson allegedly acted alone. “We have an open investigation on it and we’re still looking into it.”
The rehabilitation and nursing center has struggled with finances for more than a year, as it sits with a budget deficit totaling more than $7 million. County officials have said the deficit is a result of former mismanagement, dwindling resident numbers and delinquent billing. The DeKalb County Board has grappled for weeks with how to ensure the future prosperity of the facility amid bids to sell to a private buyer.
According to the sheriff’s office, Anderson was employed at the nursing home through a staffing agency called Maxim Health Care Agency, a Maryland-based health care staffing company that operates in 32 states, according to its website. Maxim was in charge of approving time cards for agency workers employed at the nursing center, Sullivan said.
“Maxim Agency is an outside agency that does the hiring and scheduling of the workers,” Sullivan said. “It appears like this was a matter of checks and balances.”
In February, investigators with the sheriff’s office were notified by DeKalb County officials that nursing center staff discovered Anderson, a CNA contracted with Maxim, had allegedly forged numerous time cards between October 2021 and February 2022, according to the sheriff’s office.
“It was brought to my attention because they noticed the discrepancy,” Sullivan said.
Investigators discovered Anderson had allegedly forged time cards for hours worked at the nursing center in excess of $16,000, according to the sheriff’s office.
The case remains under investigation by the sheriff’s office and the DeKalb County State’s Attorney’s Office.
This story has been updated as of 9 p.m. June 20, 2022 to correct the position Jasmine Anderson held within DeKalb County Rehabilitation and Nursing Center as a certified nursing assistant.