Oregon Department of Justice

Attorney General Hardy Myers today announced that a former Coos Bay caregiver who stole more than $30,000 from an elderly client to support a gambling habit will spend 18 months in prison. Sentenced today in Coos County Circuit Court was Tammy Sue Stanton, who currently resides in Nevada.

Stanton pleaded guilty to a felony charge of criminal (financial) mistreatment in the first degree on November 10th. In entering the plea, Stanton admitted that she agreed to care for a now 81-year-old Coos Bay widow in 1997 for purposes of defrauding her. Stanton also told investigators that she used money from the woman to support a gambling addiction that cost as much as $300 a day.

During the time she was gambling, Stanton was supposed to be providing the elderly woman with personal care and housekeeping services. State officials opened an investigation of Stanton after a protective services worker visited the woman in June 1999 and reported that both the woman and her home were dirty and unkept and that it appeared that food had not been prepared in the kitchen for a lengthy period of time. In addition to providing services to the elderly woman, Stanton was employed by the state Senior and Disabled Services Division (SDSD) to care for its public assistance clients. She was fired from that job in June 1999.

In addition to the 18-month prison term, Judge Richard Barron ordered Stanton to pay $10,000 in restitution to the victim, who currently is receiving public assistance as a result of Stanton's criminal behavior.

The Department of Justice's Medicaid Fraud Unit prosecuted Stanton in conjunction with the Coos County District Attorney's Office.