Pasco deputies: Nursing assistant exploited disabled vet with dementia

BAYONET POINT, Fla. (FOX 13) - A nursing assistant in Pasco County is accused of taking advantage of a disabled veteran with dementia.

The Pasco County Sheriff's Office said the victim is an amputee who has been diagnosed with dementia and PTSD.

Allyn Lopez, 38, was a certified nursing assistant (CNA) at the victim's assisted living facility, who investigators said befriended the victim while she worked there.

According to the sheriff's office, the victim wrote two checks to Lopez over the span of about six months. The first check was written in November 2018 for $2,000, while the second check for $4,000 was written in May 2019.

An arrest report said the victim "lacks capacity to make any financial decisions and would be unable to make a determination to write these checks based on his mental diagnosis."

Deputies said Lopez admitted to accepting and cashing the checks, even though she knew it was wrong.

Lopez stopped working at the facility in July 2019.

Deputies arrested Lopez on Tuesday for felony exploitation of an elderly or disabled person.