News and Press Releases
Nursing assistant and her husband sentenced for stealing
over $120,000 from the vulnerable adults under their care
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 23, 2011
MINNEAPOLIS – Yesterday in federal court, a 55-year-old Minneapolis man was
sentenced for his role in a scheme involving his wife, a nursing assistant, who stole more than
$120,000 from the vulnerable adults under her care. United States District Court Judge Joan N.
Ericksen sentenced Ronald Bila Shaka to 36 months in prison on one count of bank fraud and
one count of aggravated identity theft. Shaka was indicted, along with his wife, Sherita Scott-
Kelley, on July 6, 2010. He pleaded guilty on April 6, 2011.
In his plea agreement, Shaka admitted that in May of 2006, he and Scott-Kelley, age 31,
used stolen financial information that belonged to a resident at one of the residential facilities
where Scott-Kelley worked. Scott-Kelley was a certified nursing assistant and was employed as
a personal care attendant and home health aide. She provided services to elderly and/or infirm
individuals in nursing homes, assisted living facilities, private residential homes, and adult group
homes. In addition, Shaka admitted that in May of 2006 he used the stolen debit card of one
victim to withdraw $20,000 from the victim’s bank account.
On September 6, 2011, Scott-Kelley was sentenced to 45 months in prison on two counts of
aiding and abetting bank fraud and one count of aiding and abetting aggravated identity theft.
She also pleaded guilty on April 6, 2011.
In her plea agreement, Scott-Kelley admitted that from April 1, 2006, to November of 2008,
she accessed personal identification and financial information of victims who were under her
care. This information was used to access the victims’ bank accounts. Scott-Kelley also admitted
to obtaining and cashing checks drawn on the victims’ accounts, as well as obtaining and using
unauthorized credit cards in the victims’ names in order to obtain cash and other items. In
addition, Scott-Kelley admitted that in May or June of 2008, she went to a care center at a time
when she was not scheduled to work and stole personal information of victims, including checks, which were later used to create false bank accounts and fraudulent checks. Scott-Kelley
admitted to creating a loss to victims between $120,000 and $200,000.
This case was the result of an investigation by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the
Minnesota Financial Crimes Task Force, the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office and the Minnesota
Attorney General’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David P. Steinkamp.
The Minnesota Financial Crimes Task Force and the Minnesota U.S. Attorney’s Office want
to remind people to protect themselves from identity theft. For more information, visit
http://www.justice.gov/criminal/fraud/websites/idtheft.html
