A Jamaican woman was this week sentenced to 18 months probation after she admitted to stealing US$4,300 (approximately J$656,481) from a mentally challenged client of her employer in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States.

Tracey Ann K Foster, 41, pleaded guilty to forgery and theft charges relative to the incident, and was sentenced on Tuesday by Common Pleas Court judge, John Capuzzi.

According to a report in the Delco Times, the Jamaican was ordered to pay US$4,429 (approximately J$676,175.43) to the victim following an agreement under a negotiated guilty plea.

Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Schneider said the figure included interest owed to the victim calculated at three per cent per year.

Reports are that the owner of a home health care agency contacted the Upper Darby police in August of last year when a client indicated that her cheque book could not be found.

Subsequent checks revealed that three cheques from the victim’s “Bryn Mawr Trist account” had been issued to Foster, who was employed to the home agency and had visited the victim’s house “more than 200 times since July 2020”, the report stated.

Court documents revealed, too, that the Jamaican deposited an initial cheque of US$300 in July 27 of last year, followed by US$2,000 each on August 7 and August 22 of last year at ATM machines.

The police determined that the victim’s signatures on the cheques were forged because the victim had not given permission for anyone to sign on her behalf.

Foster eventually turned herself over to the police on October 28, 2021, and she was granted unsecured bail, court documents said.

The Jamaican has also been ordered to submit a DNA sample to the state police and instructed to stay away from the victim as part of her sentence.