Home aide stole $280,000 of woman’s bonds meant for her grandchildren, CT officials say

A home aide in Connecticut stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from a woman under her care and attempted to derail a subsequent investigation by bribing a witness, officials said.

Sometime around 2020, 52-year-old Jhanannie Singh, of Guyana, provided home health aide services for an older woman, according to a Nov. 28 news release from the U.S. Attorney for Connecticut.

The woman had purchased U.S. Savings Bonds for family members, including her grandchildren, officials said.

Upon the woman’s death, Singh enlisted the help of two other people to cash in the stolen bonds, officials said.

An attorney for Singh could not immediately be reached for comment by McClatchy News.

Law enforcement officials ran a yearlong undercover investigation that involved purchasing over 100 bonds from Singh and her accomplices, at least one of whom traveled to Connecticut to complete the deals, according to officials.

Singh and one accomplice were arrested in January 2021 after they had sold $287,312.39 worth of bonds to undercover agents, officials said.

Several months after her arrest, Singh attempted to bribe a witness, asking him to lie to investigators, according to officials. She was detained soon after this incident.

She pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge in August 2022. On Nov. 28, she was sentenced to 57 months in prison, just under five years, and will face immigration proceedings upon completing her sentence, officials said.

Elder fraud is a growing problem in the United States, according to government statistics. Nearly 100,000 victims over the age of 60 reported losses of $1.6 billion in 2021, marking a 74% increase in losses from the previous year, according to the Department of Justice.

This story was originally published November 30, 2022 at 7:42 AM with the headline "Home aide stole $280,000 of woman’s bonds meant for her grandchildren, CT officials say."