A caretaker who purchased luxury goods with more than $400,000 she stole from an elderly Bethesda man she was hired to care for will now spend five years in prison.
Montgomery County prosecutors said that between May 2013 and May 2014 Rosetta Price Horne, 66, of Southeast Washington, D.C., stole $404,195 from an 87-year-old man whom she was responsible for caring for in his home.
On Aug. 3, Horne was found guilty of financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult, a theft scheme over $100,000 and misappropriation of funds by a fiduciary. Horne was sentenced in Montgomery County Circuit Court to 10 years Thursday, with five years suspended plus three years of supervised probation.
According to court documents, Horne distributed the money to her daughters, purchased an $86,000 Audi A8, bought multiple Michael Kors watches and spent $62,000 at retail stores. The retail purchases mostly included expensive sunglasses, handbags and clothing, according to prosecutors.
She obtained the funds by stealing the man’s identity and using false documents to drain his various bank and brokerage accounts. She also drained the accounts the victim gave her access to as part of her caretaking responsibilities, according to prosecutors.
Horne also tried to get the victim to marry her. When investigators asked the man if he and Horne were married, he replied that she wanted to marry him to obtain his house. And he told investigators that if he did marry her, he knew he “would be dead in the morning,” according to court documents.
Horne attempted to ban a social worker investigating the fraud from entering the man’s home by telling the social worker she held the deed. The investigator was tipped off about the potential fraud by the victim’s banks.
“[The victim] only had his real property as assets after the fraud was completed by [Horne],” prosecutors wrote in court documents. “As a result, he must sell his Bethesda home in order to have the money he needs to live… the dream of living in his home is gone and he must live at an assisted living facility instead of staying at home and paying for in-home care.”
Prosecutors said the victim, who is now 89, suffers from dementia. Horne did not show remorse over stealing from the man, according to prosecutors.
At one point during the trial, Horne left the stand while testifying to go to the bathroom. In the hallway, where fire and rescue personnel were waiting to testify in a different matter, she complained of medical issues and was transported to a hospital.
Doctors at Shady Grove Medical Center determined there was nothing wrong with her, according to prosecutors, and she sought a second opinion at Washington Hospital Center, where she was diagnosed with asthma. Though she was absent, the trial continued without Horne.
Prosecutors noted that Horne bought the Audi A8 under the name of another person, and used it to drive to and from the courthouse. However, because the car is owned by someone else, it can’t be counted as an asset of Horne’s and therefore can’t be used for restitution, according to prosecutors.
“Five years behind bars will give Ms. Horne a long time to think about the harm she caused this 89-year-old victim,” Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy said in a statement. “And hopefully this will serve notice to other thieves who might scam our senior citizens—they will be caught, they will be arrested, prosecuted and do time for their crime.”
