Carson City woman allegedly stole credit card from stroke patient, racked up $5,400 in purchases
Submitted by Jeff Munson on Thu, 05/16/2024 - 2:06pm
A 63-year-old housekeeper was arrested Thursday for 14 counts of credit card fraud and other offenses after allegedly stealing a credit card belonging to an 86-year-old patient who family members said was being treated for a stroke at a local care facility, according to a Carson City Sheriff's Office detective.
Janet Johnson was taken into custody at 9 a.m. Thursday following an investigation, where it was learned she allegedly made 35 unauthorized transactions beginning April 4 until May 9 amounting to approximately $5,400. She was booked for 14 counts suspicion of using a credit card without consent, possession of a credit card without consent, petit larceny and possession of a prescription drug without a prescription.
According to CCSO Detective Sam Hatley and outlined in a booking report, the sheriff's office was contacted by the 86-year-old woman's family after they discovered numerous unauthorized credit card transactions while she had been a patient at Ormsby Post Acute Rehab in Carson City. Family members informed the detective that their 86-year-old mother was being treated for a stroke at the facility.
In March the woman was admitted to the care facility following release from the hospital after suffering a stroke. When she was released from the care facility, the family members discovered the woman's wallet was missing from her purse. The wallet contained her credit card. An inventory, when admitted to the care facility, listed a purse and wallet as possessions, the report states.
Family members reviewed the woman's credit card statement and discovered 25 transactions were at various Carson City area businesses from beginning April 4 for $2,874.38. Five transactions were at Carson City Walmart on Market Street. Detective Hatley provided Walmart Asset Protection with the transaction details.
Walmart Asset Protection then located 10 additional transactions involving the woman's credit card from April 4 to May 9. One of the transactions was at the Walmart on Topsy Lane in Douglas County. The transaction total amount for Walmart was $2,527.46.
Walmart Asset Protection provided a photograph of the same woman, suspect Johnson, who made all the transactions with the 86-year-old woman's credit card. Detective Hatley forwarded the photograph to the manager of Ormsby Acute Rehab who identified the female suspect as Janet Johnson, a housekeeper at the facility.
On Thursday, May 16, Detective Hatley met with Janet Johnson at the facility. She denied involvement in the theft of the wallet and credit card use. Detective Hatley showed her a photograph of her at Walmart. She identified herself in the photograph but still denied involvement. Hatley showed her more photographs of herself. She then admitted to the theft, the report states.
Johnson was read her Miranda warning and after stating that she didn't want to talk she made spontaneous statements about her involvement, saying she was in financial trouble and so she took the card and used it at multiple locations in Carson City. She said she tore the card up when she learned of the investigation on May 11. She admitted to taking the credit card from the hospital bag while the 86-year-old patient was asleep, according to the booking report.
Johnson was arrested for 14 counts of use of a credit card without the owner's consent, possession of a credit card without the owner's consent and petit larceny. She was taken to jail where she was booked. During the intake process her purse was searched where seven prescription only pills of Promethazine were found. She stated she did not have a prescription for the medication and had obtained the pills from someone at her work. She was additionally charged with gross misdemeanor possession of a dangerous drug without a prescription. Total bail amount listed: $13,632.
All information for the crime log (unless otherwise noted) comes from arrest reports supplied by the Carson City Sheriff's Office, and is considered by law to be public information. All subjects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The policy of Carson Now is to name anyone who is arrested for a felony offense.
