A 79-year-old Richmond, VA, woman will spend the next two years behind bars because the FBI suspects she gambled away money intended for her assisted living residents.
When residents can’t complete financial transactions on their own, assisted living facilities can collect state and federal payments on their behalf. The money helps take care of expenses like food, clothing, housing and medical care.
But that wasn’t what Mable B. Jones used the money for starting in December 2015.
The FBI asked prosecutors to charge Jones with healthcare fraud because she took $800,000 in state and federal benefit payments from her residents. The crimes took place over the course of more than three years. The former Jones & Jones assisted living business owner closed the facility in the spring of 2019.
Jackpot chases endangered assisted living residents
As Jones made casino trips to Las Vegas and Atlantic City, her residents suffered back in Richmond, according to federal prosecutors and the FBI.
The owner lied about her use of resident funds. In addition to the casino trips, prosecutors say Jones used the money to:
- satisfy her personal debts, including her mortgage and bankruptcy payments
- fund her personal travel, retail purchases and gambling expenses
“Jones’s diversion of resident benefits led to significant and persistent deficiencies in the facilities, care, and services provided to Jones & Jones residents,” a Sept. 7 sentencing announcement said.
The deficiencies “endangered residents’ health and safety.” according to prosecutors. They added:
“These conditions ultimately prompted state and federal audits of the facility before its closure.”
Judge M. Hannah Lauck handed down the sentence on Sept. 7. The law and order team included:
- Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia
- Stanley M. Meador, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Field Office
- Michael McGill, Special Agent in Charge, Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General, Philadelphia Field Division
- Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kaitlin G. Cooke and Shea Gibbons
Criminal behavior is a warning sign of problem gambling.
If you or someone you know has a gambling addiction, text or call 1-888-532-3500. Or you can chat online at vcpg.net.
