Former Adult Residential Facility Manager Sentenced to One to Three Years in Prison for Stealing Residents’ Money
Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney today announced that Desiree Etheridge, 50, the former facility manager at Eden II in Saint James, was sentenced to one to three years in prison after pleading guilty to Grand Larceny in the Third Degree, for stealing funds from the ATM cards of six residents with autism spectrum disorder, who entrusted her with their cards for petty cash purposes.
“This defendant exploited her position in order to steal money from residents’ bank accounts, leaving them financially devastated,” said District Attorney Tierney. “Prison is appropriate for any such calculated abuse of power against some of our most vulnerable members of the community.”
According to court documents and the defendant’s admissions during her guilty plea allocution, from November 2018 to June 2021, Etheridge stole funds from the ATM cards of six residents while she was working as residential manager of Eden II, a residential facility. As facility manager, Etheridge had control and access to the six residents’ bank accounts and debit cards. One of her responsibilities was to withdraw money to place in each residents’ petty cash envelope so they could go on outings to eateries and local stores. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Etheridge depleted the residents’ bank accounts.
On August 12, 2022, Etheridge was arrested after voluntarily surrendering to law enforcement.
On July 29, 2024, Etheridge pleaded guilty to Grand Larceny in the Third Degree, a Class D felony, before Acting Supreme Court Justice Richard I. Horowitz.
On August 29, 2024, Justice Horowitz sentenced Etheridge to one to three years in prison. She was represented by Jason Russo, Esq.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Milito of the Financial Crimes Bureau, and the investigation was conducted by Detective James Castaldo of the Suffolk County Police Department’s Fourth Squad.
Criminal complaints and indictments are merely accusatory instruments. Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. No one is above the law.