East St. Louis Caretaker Sentenced to Prison for Stealing Identities of Elderly Clients

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. – A woman who abused her employment with an in-home health care company and
stole the identities of her elderly clients is heading to prison. Erica S. Rose, 31, of East Saint
Louis, Illinois, was sentenced today to one year and one day in federal prison and two years of
court supervision after her release. Rose pled guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire
fraud and aggravated identity theft last November.
In 2018, Rose worked for a company called CareLink and gained access to the homes of her elderly
victims as their hired caretaker. While inside, she stole social security numbers and other
identifying information  and  passed  the  stolen  information  along  to  her  co-defendant, 
Ashley  McKinney. McKinney  allegedly  used  victims’  funds  and  identities  to  withdraw  money 
from  ATMs,  deposit fraudulent checks, and even purchase a car online for over $28,000.

There is an outstanding warrant for McKinney’s arrest in this case.

As part of her sentence, Rose was ordered to pay $9,864.71 in restitution.

The investigation was conducted by detectives from the Edwardsville Police Department, Belleville
Police Department, Swansea Police Department, and St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office. The case is
being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Luke J. Weissler.