FLORIDA — A former office manager of a Florida nursing and rehab facility has been arrested for grand theft, announced Attorney General Ashley Moody’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) and the Orange Park Police Department.
Priscilla M. Sluder is accused of stealing nearly $30,000 from resident trust fund accounts for personal benefit, according to the MFCU.
“Florida seniors should not have to worry about their personal funds being stolen, especially from a manager of a nursing facility who is supposed to be looking out for them,” said Moody.
Sluder reportedly worked as an assistant business office manager for Orange Park Nursing LLC d/b/a The Palms Nursing and Rehab at Orange Park, a 120-bed skilled nursing facility. The Palms provides both short-term treatment and long-term care through comprehensive medical services, 24-hour skilled nursing care, and programs in both rehabilitation and restorative care.
According to the investigation, Sluder took cash from the Patient Trust Fund, an account for residents to access cash to purchase personal items. The investigation allegedly revealed Sluder stole funds for over two years totaling $29,504 from at least 40 patients.
The Palms reimbursed the patients’ accounts for the losses and terminated Sluder.
Sluder faces one count of grand theft $20,000 or more but less than $100,000, a second-degree felony. The MFCU will prosecute the case through an agreement with the State Attorney’s Office for the Fourth Judicial Circuit.
