Elder Home Caregiver Sentenced to Prison for Defrauding 92-Year-Old Homebound Victim

     TUCSON, Ariz. – On November 26, 2019, U.S. District Court Judge Rosemary Márquez sentenced Mona Rodriguez, 37, of Tucson, to 30 months in prison. Rodriguez had previously pleaded guilty to Wire Fraud. The court also ordered Ms. Rodriguez to pay $171,631 in restitution for the losses sustained by the victim. 

     Ms. Rodriguez and her mother, co-defendant Margaret Gastelum, provided home care assistance for the 92-year-old homebound victim. In her plea agreement, Ms. Rodriguez admitted that she and Ms. Gastelum gained access to the victim’s banking information and fraudulently used funds from the victim’s bank accounts.  Ms. Rodriguez and Ms. Gastelum also fraudulently used the victims’ credit cards and Ms. Rodriguez obtained a credit card in the victim’s name without the victim’s consent.

     Ms. Gastelum previously entered a guilty plea to wire fraud and was also sentenced to 30 months in prison on August 14, 2019.

     The investigation in this case was conducted by the United States Secret Service and the Tucson Police Department. The prosecution was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Wallace Kleindienst for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, Tucson.