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Buffalo, NY (WNY News Now) – A Buffalo woman pleaded guilty to Grand Larceny in the 3rd degree, a Class D felony, on Tuesday afternoon.
41 year old Latonia N. Turner stole a debit card from an elderly woman’s purse while she slept at a senior living facility where Turner worked as a patient aide. Between April 27th, 2023, and June 8th, 2023, Turner made 55 unauthorized ATM withdrawals from the victim’s bank account.
She was able to gain access to the account because the victim had written down her personal identification number, also known as a PIN, on a piece of paper that was also kept in her purse.
The crime was uncovered after the victim reviewed her checking account statements and reported the fraudulent transactions to the bank. She was reimbursed by the bank for the loss, which totaled $41,216.
Turner subsequently confessed to the crime, which was corroborated by surveillance video from the bank and senior living facility.
As a stipulation of her guilty plea, Turner will be forced to pay full restitution to the bank, and will be unable to work as a patient care aide due to her felony conviction.
She will be sentenced on Tuesday, October 24, 2023 at 2:00 p.m. She faces a maximum sentence of 7 years in prison, and was released on her own recognizance.
“Anyone can become the victim of a financial crime, so I encourage everyone to take extra precautions to safeguard their personal information. Please, do not write passwords or PINs on your debit card or anywhere that can be easily located by a scammer,” said Erie County DA John Flynn.
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