A former manager at a St. James residential facility was sentenced to one to three years in prison for stealing money from the facility’s residents.
From November 2018 to June 2021, Desiree Etheridge stole funds from the ATM cards of six residents while she was working as residential manager of Eden II. 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 restaurants and local stores.
The residents, who were diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, entrusted her with their cards for petty cash purposes. 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. Etheridge pleaded guilty on July 29, 2024 to third-degree grand larceny, a Class D felony, before Acting Supreme Court Justice Richard I. Horowitz. On August 29, 2024, Horowitz sentenced Etheridge to one to three years in prison.
“This defendant exploited her position in order to steal money from residents’ bank accounts, leaving them financially devastated,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney. “Prison is appropriate for any such calculated abuse of power against some of our most vulnerable members of the community.”