Queens Home Health Aide Accused Of Stealing $100K From Patient

FRESH MEADOWS, QUEENS — A home health aide in Queens was arrested after prosecutors accused her of stealing nearly $100,000 from her blind, 89-year-old patient by duping the woman into signing inflated paychecks and withdrawing money from her bank account.

Sita Saunders, a 61-year-old Fresh Meadows resident, could spend up to 15 years in prison if convicted of the scheme, which prosecutors said lasted from March 2019 to February 2020.

Saunders got her hands on the extra dough by getting her patient to sign paychecks she'd written for thousands of dollars more than her actual salary as a home health attendant, the Queens District Attorney's Office said in a news release.

Saunders also helped her patient, who has macular degeneration and is legally blind, go to the bank to pay her bills.

At the same time, she withdrew money from her patient's bank account, for a total windfall of $81,000, according to prosecutors.

Saunders was busted after her patient's son spotted irregularities in his mother's finances, prosecutors said.

Saunders was arraigned Tuesday on charges of grand larceny, identity theft and criminal possession of stolen property. She is due to return to court on April 27.