Maryland Attorney General announces a string convictions for abuse of vulnerable adults

BALTIMORE-- Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown announced a string of recent convictions for abuse of vulnerable adults in Anne Arundel, Baltimore and Howard counties. Brown made the announcement at a press conference at the AARP Maryland headquarters in Annapolis on Thursday. In two of those cases, the abuse was caught on camera.

After carefully selecting an assisted living facility for her mother with Dementia, Terry McCoy said she got a call from the office of the Attorney General with horrible news.

"I could not believe it. I was yelling and screaming," McCoy said.

A video was circulating on social media of her 80-year-old mother, Launna Dean Rambeau, being taunted, pushed to the ground and verbally abused by a caretaker at her assisted living facility in the 800 block of Ritchie Highway in Severna Park. Another video showed the same caretaker, 28-year-old Jnae Alston of Baltimore taunting a different patient with Alzheimer's. 

Alston was convicted of two counts of abuse of a vulnerable adult and in January she was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

"We are just one family but there are countless others out there who need your help," said McCoy.

McCoy said her mother was never the same after the abuse, and she passed away a few months later. 

"She deserved so much better than how she was treated when she was alive," said McCoy. "Please keep her in your hearts as you continue to fight to protect the vulnerable from abusers."

Attorney General Anthony Brown's Medicaid Fraud and Vulnerable Victims unit also announced convictions in two other cases:

26-year-old Asia Williams of Baltimore was an in-home caretaker for a 21-year-old intellectually disabled woman with Autism in Howard County. Williams was caught on a security camera beating and abusing the victim in her own home. The victim confided in a school nurse who discovered extensive bruises on the victim and chunks of her hair were missing due to Williams dragging her down the stairs by her hair. 

In March, Howard County Circuit Court Judge William Tucker found Williams guilty of abuse of a vulnerable adult in the second degree and assault in the second degree following a two-day bench trial. Sentencing is scheduled for May 16, 2024.

59-year-old Donna Myers of Baltimore was an in-home caretaker for a 30-year-old vulnerable adult with intellectual disabilities. In May of 2022, Donna and her 37-year-old daughter Allysha Myers who was not a caretaker, picked up the victim from a day habilitation program in Halethorpe. When the victim resisted being placed in Donna Meyers' car, Donna Myers pulled her out of the car by her hair and onto the ground, putting her knee on the victim's chest. Myers's daughter Allysha then forced the victim back into the car and punched her several times. A van driver for the program witnessed the abuse and intervened.  

 Donna Myers was sentenced to three years in prison in October of 2023. On February 8, 2024, a Baltimore County jury found Allysha Myers guilty of second-degree assault for her role in the incident. On March 25, 2024, she was sentenced to 10 years incarceration.

Zak Shirley, Director of the Office of the Attorney General's Medicaid Fraud and Vulnerable Victims Unit, said the case, "highlights the importance of community involvement." 

At the press conference, AARP senior director of advocacy, Tammy Bresnahan, said, "Sadly, we know these are not isolated cases. As a state, we must do more to regulate, monitor and hold these facilities accountable for how they treat Maryland's most vulnerable."

Attorney General Brown said House Bill 723 – now headed for Governor Wes Moore's desk – would help him enforce a bill of rights for people in long-term care and assisted living facilities and intervene immediately if those rights are being violated.

"While we investigate and bring civil or criminal charges, we today do not have the tools often to stop that conduct right now," said Brown. "So, we are in the general assembly asking for injunctive relief. We see harm, we see it now, we want to stop it now."

The Office of the Attorney General was able to bring guilty convictions in all of these cases because of the employees, nurses and members of the community who reported the abuse. If you suspect a vulnerable adult is being abused physically, verbally, or financially by a caretaker, you can reach out to the following agencies: 

OAG Medicaid Fraud and Vulnerable Victims Unit hotline: (410) 576-6521 email: medicaidfraud@oag.state.md.us 

Maryland Ombudsman: (410)767-1100

Office of Health Care Quality: health.maryland.gov/ohcq  then click "file a complaint" 

Adult Protective Services Unit- DHS hotline for reporting maltreatment of children and adults 1-800-91-PREVENT