Akimmia Lewis is accused of bilking more than $46K from bank account of nursing home patient.
An Escambia County woman has been arrested on charges related to exploiting the elderly.
The Medicaid Fraud Control Unit for Attorney General James Uthmeier’s Office this month took Akimmia Lewis into custody on allegations she was exploiting a senior citizen. Uthmeier’s Office says the man was receiving elderly care services from Lewis.
The investigation by Uthmeier’s Office alleges that Lewis held power of attorney over the elderly man and used that authority to illegally withdraw funds from his bank account over about a half year, between August 2022 and February 2023.
Lewis is accused of transferring $46,788.60 into her own banking accounts. After the funds were transferred, she allegedly proceeded to make multiple cash withdrawals she used to spend on herself.
The elderly man was a patient who resided in a Panhandle nursing home for the period that Lewis was allegedly pilfering the money.
“We will not tolerate those who take advantage of vulnerable Floridians for personal gain,” Uthmeier said in a news release. “Our office will continue to aggressively pursue criminals who abuse positions of trust and exploit the elderly.”
Uthmeier’s Office charged Lewis with exploitation of an elderly person or disabled adult under $50,000. The state statute applies to anyone who knowingly obtains an elderly person’s funds for exploitation of an elderly person or disabled adult who “stands in a position of trust and confidence with the elderly person or disabled adults or has a business relationship with the elderly person or disabled adult.”
The charge is a second-degree felony. If Lewis is found guilty, she could be sentenced to prison. The maximum penalty would be 15 years. The Medicaid Fraud Control Unit for the Attorney General’s Office will prosecute the case. The unit reached an agreement to prosecute the case with Florida’s First Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office.
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