In-home Caretaker Pleads Guilty to Stealing More Than $80,000 from her Client’s Estate

Memphis, TN – An in-home caretaker has pled guilty to bank fraud and conspiring to commit mail fraud in a scheme that defrauded a deceased woman’s estate of more than $80,000. Edward L. Stanton III, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee, announced the plea today.

According to the indictment, Shirley Hardaway, 59, of Memphis, was the owner and operator of Companion Plus, an in-home health and respite care provider to sick, disabled, and elderly people. Hardaway served as the daily in-home caretaker of the deceased victim for approximately four-to-five years, according to information presented in court. The home services ceased when the victim died in September 2009 at the age of 91. The deceased victim left behind more than $80,000 in two investment accounts at Franklin Templeton Investments, an investment managing company headquartered in California.

Nearly two years after the victim’s death, in June 2011, Hardaway mailed fraudulent change of address requests to Franklin Templeton on the decedent’s investment accounts, changing the address used for future correspondence between the parties to Hardaway’s address.

Hardaway and a co-conspirator then opened a fraudulent bank account online in the decedent’s name at Bank of America. The victim’s name, social security account number, and address were used to open the account.

After the Bank of America account was activated, Hardaway and her co-conspirator mailed several fraudulent documents to Franklin Templeton in the decedent’s name requesting that the company liquidate the victim’s two investment accounts and transfer the money within them to the fraudulently opened bank account. Upon receiving the request to liquidate both of the deceased victim’s accounts, Franklin Templeton

electronically transferred more than $80,000 to the bank account. Hardaway then transferred the money to her personal Bank of America savings account and withdrew it all via cashier’s check.

On Thursday, October 8th, 2015, Hardaway pled guilty to bank fraud and conspiracy to commit mail fraud.

The plea included a criminal forfeiture provision in the amount of money stolen from the decedent’s investment accounts: $80,423.67.

Hardaway faces up to 30 years imprisonment and a fine of up to $1 million on the bank fraud charge. She faces up to 20 years imprisonment and a fine of up to $250,000 on the conspiracy to commit mail fraud charge.

Hardaway is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Jon Phipps McCalla on January 6th, 2016.

The case was investigated by the United States Secret Service.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Leetra Harris is prosecuting the case on the government’s behalf.