A caregiver who allegedly cashed more than $22,000 worth of stolen checks cashed some of those checks at a credit union at Walmart at Buffalo Ridge Plaza in The Villages.
Aushanti Tumayia Woods, 26, of Ocala, had been caring for a man’s wife at a Brookdale memory care facility when he hired Woods as a housekeeper at his home, according to an arrest report from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office. The man later discovered that between March and October, Woods had stolen 24 checks and wrote them to herself, for an amount totaling more than $22,000. The checkbook had been located in a drawer in the man’s home. While the man had paid Woods by check, the 24 checks in question were not written by him and appeared to have a fraudulent signature. The man indicated that he had been paying Woods $19 per hour to work as a housekeeper and caregiver for his wife. He said that over the past several months she had earned $24,000 while working for him.
The arrest report indicated that five of the forged checks were cashed by Woods at the Suncoast Credit Union at the Walmart at Buffalo Ridge Plaza. Other checks were cashed at the Reliance Food Mart in Ocala.
Woods was arrested Tuesday on charges of exploitation of the elderly and forgery. She was booked at the Marion County Jail and released after posting $53,000 bond.
