St. Landry Sheriff's deputies have arrested a Mamou woman and accused her of financially exploiting a nursing home resident.
Tranessa Compton, 30, was booked with 259 counts of Access Device Fraud, 16 counts of Identity Theft and 4 counts of Contributing to the Delinquency of a Juvenile.
Sheriff Bobby Guidroz said the investigation began back in January, when deputies were called with a complaint that a woman was taking advantage of an elderly nursing home resident.
When the St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office detectives spoke with nursing home administration, it was learned that Tranessa Compton worked the same hall where the victim resides and had access to the victim’s room. Detectives learned that the victim's credit card had been stolen and numerous charges had been made on the card. The charges started in November, just a couple of weeks after the victim moved into the nursing home. Between November and December, $18,378.48 in fraudulent charges had been made on her credit card, deputies learned.
Detectives then learned that 16 credit card payments had been made using the victim's bank accounts, for a total of $17,451.93. They obtained phone recordings in which Compton allegedly identified herself as the victim, supplied the victim's personal information and gained access to the victim's bank account.
The last recorded call Tranessa Compton made to the credit card company was in regards to the credit card no longer working, the sheriff said. When she was advised that the credit card had been cancelled and a new card was being issued, Tranessa Compton attempted to have the stolen card reactivated and supplied her phone number as a contact number for the account’s file.
As video and photographic evidence became available, Tranessa Compton and a male individual could be seen using the stolen credit card on numerous occasions, until the time the credit card was cancelled. On two separate occasions, Tranessa Compton was observed using the stolen credit card while in the presence of juveniles, the sheriff says.
When questioned by detectives, Tranessa Compton initially denied any involvement. Tranessa Compton later allegedly admitted to using the victim’s card, claiming that the victim gave her the card for the purpose of buying Christmas gifts for her children.
The investigation is ongoing.
