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Hernando Today

Report: Thousands Stolen From Elderly Victim

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By KYLE MARTIN, Hernando Today

Published: December 18, 2007

BROOKSVILLE - Two people claiming to be an 88-year-old woman's caregivers are accused of cheating their charge out of $24,000 over the course of three months.

Investigators were tipped off by SunTrust Bank officials, who were growing concerned about the victim's rapidly dwindling bank account.

A once-healthy money market account worth $40,000 was chipped away by checks as high as $15,000, a report states.

The bank official also gave the deputy copies of three checks for $3,000 apiece, each written about two weeks apart. The memo stated it was for food, according to a report.

With copies of the checks in hand, a deputy and an investigator with the Department of Children and Families paid a visit to the victim's home on Nov. 2. At the time, the suspects, 43-year-old Louis Crews and Heather Ungood, 26, were living with her.

While the deputy took information from the couple, the DCF investigator spoke with the victim alone. The interview took place in the living room lounge chair where she spent most of her time, including sleeping at night.

The victim reportedly told the bank official that she was trying to do a good deed for Ungood and her family, "but she could no longer continue doing this."

On Nov. 26, Jeff Kraft, a detective exclusively assigned to investigate abuse of the elderly, picked up the case.

A report states that he interviewed the victim in a hospital emergency room, though it doesn't indicate why she needed medical attention.

Kraft said the woman seemed "easily confused" and that there were obvious signs she "did not have full mental awareness."

According to the report:

For years the victim's neighbor had checked in on her, but the victim felt like she was being a burden. So she contacted the local Comfort Keepers in Spring Hill, a business that provides nonmedical care and company for shut-ins.

They sent Ungood. On Monday, the president of the Hernando and west Pasco counties franchises, Robert Runnels, said Ungood quit Comfort Keepers several days after she took the job with the victim.

By that point, Ungood had moved in with the victim and brought her family with her. She lived rent-free and was paid for food and clothes, in addition to the $450 for her services.

There were extra expenses. The victim doled out money for car repairs, then money for a new car, funds to get married, then a cash wedding present and also $3,000 to open a bank account for their child.

The one time the victim protested, Ungood allegedly threatened that her power would be turned off if she didn't cooperate.

In an apparent attempt to alienate an ally, Ungood told the victim's neighbor that her friend was angry with her, the report states. The phone was taken off the hook and placed out of reach.

When Kraft began his investigation, Ungood and her boyfriend, Crews, skipped the state, the detective said. The victim didn't know they had left until she woke up in her chair one morning. She told the detective they had left her water and crackers to eat.

Kraft tracked the couple to two towns in Pennsylvania and contacted local authorities of each municipality. Ungood and Crews were arrested and extradited to Hernando County, where they were charged with exploitation of the elderly and neglect of an elderly person. Both remain in custody on a $52,000 bond.

Reporter Kyle Martin can be reached at 352-544-5271 or kmartin@hernandotoday.com

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