Senior facility worker charged with identity theft, elder abuse

A 29-year-old worker at a senior care facility in San Mateo has been charged with identity theft and elder abuse for allegedly using bank cards of residents at the facility, prosecutors said Thursday.

Abigail Sevudredre, who worked as a care provider at Sunrise of San Mateo, a senior care facility at 955 S. El Camino Real, faces multiple counts for the thefts between April 2018 and this March, according to the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office.

A 97-year-old woman was going over her finances with her daughter and found Uber and Lyft ride-hailing service charges that she had not made. They called police and investigators eventually learned another victim’s bank cards had been used for Uber and Lyft after she died, prosecutors said.

Further investigation by police revealed 11 victims at the facility whose bank cards had been used without their consent for Uber and Lyft, as well as DoorDash and Grubhub food delivery charges. The total theft was more than $3,100, prosecutors said.

Sevudredre was arrested and had two victims’ bank cards in her possession. She made her initial appearance in court Wednesday and pleaded not guilty to all charges.

She remains in custody on $200,000 bail and is set to return to court on July 25.

Sunrise of San Mateo issued a statement Thursday about the case.

“We take this matter very seriously and are committed to our residents’ security and well-being.”

“We are continuing to cooperate with local law enforcement’s investigation and we thank them for their efforts on this matter.”