Ex-DHHS worker sentenced for theft from elderly clients

LIMESTONE – A former caseworker for the Department of Health and Human Services who was convicted of diverting funds from four of his elderly and incapacitated clients to purchase gifts for himself, his family and his girlfriend, was sentenced on a charge of theft last week.

Maine Attorney General Steven Rowe announced Tuesday that Albert Bouchard, 47, of Limestone, a former caseworker for the DHHS Bureau of Elder and Adult Services, was sentenced by Aroostook County Superior Court Justice E. Allen Hunter to serve two years in jail with all but 30 days suspended.

The jail sentence will be followed by five months of house arrest, during which Bouchard will be allowed to leave his residence only for work, community service, parent-teacher conferences and medical appointments.

He also was placed on probation for two years and will be required to complete 200 hours of community service.

The sentencing took place in Caribou, Assistant Attorney General Leanne Robbin said Tuesday. Bouchard was indicted for the crime in November 2005 and requested a jury trial but pleaded guilty to the charge the day before the trial was to start, she said.

Bouchard began serving his sentence immediately and paid full restitution on the day of his sentencing, which took place Friday.

The Limestone resident was charged with having misappropriated more than $9,000 from clients to purchase jewelry, electronics, gift certificates and furniture for himself, his family and his girlfriend over a 15-month period between 2001 and 2003, according to Rowe.

In one instance, Bouchard charged a $300 digital camera to the account of one elderly woman with dementia and also made several cash withdrawals from her account.

He used another client’s account to purchase a $1,300 large-screen television for his home and delivered a 27-inch TV to the nursing facility at which the client was living.

Bouchard also charged the accounts of two clients with dementia for several pieces of expensive jewelry, including a $600 diamond anniversary ring and a $700 gold rope chain necklace. Rowe said Bouchard delivered inexpensive substitutes to the clients, who were residing at nursing care facilities.

The 47-year-old also charged three gift certificates on three client accounts in December 2002. The certificates were given as Christmas gifts to his then-wife and children and to his girlfriend and her children.

Robbin said what made the case “especially egregious” was the “calculated and deceptive nature of the theft.”

Rowe noted that Bouchard “worked for the agency that is charged with protecting the elderly from predators like Albert Bouchard.

“He committed a gross abuse of the trust placed in him by the state to care for our most vulnerable citizens,” Rowe added. “Bouchard’s conduct unfairly tarnishes the reputation of the many other dedicated caseworkers who strive to care and protect the elderly.”

Rowe said his office would continue to work with the Bureau of Elder and Adult Services to protect the elderly from financial exploitation.

As a result of Bouchard’s misappropriation, DHHS instituted additional safeguards to ensure that expenditures of client funds are appropriate and made for their benefit, according to Rowe.

Bouchard’s attorney, William Smith of Van Buren, could not be reached for comment Tuesday.