Former Group Home Manager Charged With Stealing Nearly $9,000 From Residents
WHEATON, Ill. (CBS) -- A former house manager for a west suburban group home for the developmentally disabled stands charged with stealing nearly $9,000 from the residents.
DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin announced Tuesday that bond has been set at $50,000 for Linda Cottrell, 37, of Justice.
Cottrell worked as house manager at the Cupertino Home, at 3-S-750 Warren Ave. in unincorporated Warrenville, prosecutors said.
In her position, she had access to a safe where the residents' ATM cards and other personal property were kept, prosecutors said. The group home serves seven developmentally disabled adult men.
Several times, Cottrell took the assisted living home residents' ATM cards, withdrew money from their bank accounts, and pocketed it for herself, prosecutors said.
Cottrell finally got caught when another employee found discrepancies in some residents' checking accounts and notified officials at the facility, prosecutors said. In total, she allegedly took $8,848.45, including nearly $7,700 from just one patient, prosecutors said.
Cottrell stands charged with one count of financial exploitation of a disabled person. She is due back in court on Oct. 29 before DuPage County Judge Kathryn Creswell.
