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Women accused of manipulating senior
Two charged with taking money from man in nursing home
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Published: June 15, 2008
Two women were arrested Friday on charges that they arranged for an 85-year-old resident of a nursing home to withdraw money from his account and give it to them.
Sherrill Sealey Raso, 30, of 140 Brown Road, Kernersville and Sarah Dean Gustafson, 55, of 407 Dewey St., Kernersville face charges of obtaining property by false pretenses.
Raso is charged with four counts; Gustafson is charged with two counts.
According to court papers, Raso had worked at Kerner Ridge Assisted Living, where she met John Largen II.
Raso was fired from Kerner Ridge, according to court papers, but it is not clear when.
She and Gustafson are accused of picking Largen up from the home, then taking him to his bank and having him withdraw money for them. The warrants do not indicate how much money is alleged to have been taken.
Kernersville police said they believe that Raso took money from Largen some time between February and June 6 and that Gustafson took money between May 30 and June 6.
Reached for comment yesterday after she had posted a $24,000 bond, Gustafson said, "You can put down that I'm innocent."
She said she didn't know how much money she was accused of taking and that she "didn't take anything."
Largen's son, John Largen III, said he did not want to comment about the details of the case until it reached court.
"It's just an awful thing when people take advantage of older people," he said.
Kernersville police said they would not provide details about the case until Monday, when detectives return to work.
The warrants filed against Gustafson indicate that she is a friend of Raso's and accuse her of telling the nursing home she was a representative of a church taking Largen out to lunch.
Instead, she took Largen to the bank and kept the money for her and Raso, the warrants allege.
Kimberly Hemric, the executive director of Kerner Ridge, said Raso had not been an employee for "many months."
She would not say if Raso was fired or speak about the nursing home's response to the case.
"We can't comment any further," she said, citing privacy concerns.
Raso was being held last night at the Forsyth County Jail with bond set at $48,000.
■ Dan Galindo can be reached at 727-7377 or at dgalindo@wsjournal.com.
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