Nebraska Attorney General
07/31/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 07/31/2024 14:17
Council Bluffs Woman Sentenced for Financially Exploiting Disabled Adults
Posted:
Wednesday, July 31, 2024
Today, Beth Yeates of Council Bluffs, Iowa, was sentenced in Washington County District Court for financially exploiting seven DUET clients who lived in group homes for developmentally disabled adults in Blair, Nebraska. DUET is a disability services provider.
Yeates, 32, was working as a supervisor in the DUET group homes. She used her credit card to place orders for items intended for residents of these homes. She was reimbursed for the purchases from the disabled adults' accounts. After she was reimbursed, Yeates would cancel the orders. Her supervisors at DUET uncovered the scheme when they audited the disabled adults' accounts and notified Adult Protective Services and local law enforcement.
Judge Brian Meismer sentenced Yeates to 60 months of probation, 90 days in jail, and ordered her to pay restitution of $16,876.31 to her victims. Yeates was also ordered to write letters of apology to all her victims.
The matter was investigated by the Blair Police Department and the Medicaid Fraud and Patient Abuse Unit at the Nebraska Attorney General's Office. It was prosecuted by the Nebraska Attorney General's Office.