RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A certified nursing assistant in North Carolina has been sentenced to a year and a day in prison and ordered to pay $90,000 in restitution for defrauding a disabled military veteran, prosecutors said.
Tracey McNeill, 51, of Raeford pleaded guilty in July to wire fraud, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina. The sentence was handed down on Friday.
Court documents say that between February 2015 and February 2017, McNeill fraudulently obtained VA and Office of Personnel Management benefits by executing a power of attorney over the victim, who served in the U.S. Army and worked for the U.S. Postal Service for 41 years.
An investigation showed McNeill arranged for the victim, who had dementia, to move into her home in February 2015, then directed the VA and OPM to deposit his benefits into her bank account. the news release said. The victim passed away on Dec. 6, 2016.
In all, McNeill deposited $61,318 from OPN and $11,151 from the VA, which prosecutors said she spent on personal expenses. She also listed herself as the beneficiary of the victim’s retirement and life insurance benefits. OPM sent $17,533 in life insurance proceeds to McNeill, authorities said.
