FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEWS ADVISORY
July 1, 2014
For More Information, contact:
Luther Strange
Joy Patterson (334) 242-7491
Alabama Attorney General
Claire Haynes (334) 242-7351
Page 1 of 1
AG ANNOUNCES CONVICTION OF FORMER CONECUH COUNTY
NURSING HOME BOOKEEPER FOR THEFT OF RESIDENTS’ FUNDS
(MONTGOMERY)–Attorney General Luther Strange announced the conviction
today of Mary K. Nowell for the theft of patient funds from Evergreen Nursing Home
and Rehabilitation in Conecuh County.
Nowell, 49 and currently a resident of Bon Secour, Alabama, had been employed
as a bookkeeper at the facility from November 2008 until February 2013. Crowne
Management, the owner of the facility, conducted an internal audit of the facility’s
patient trust fund after discrepancies were noted in the residents’ accounts. The audit
found evidence that Nowell had embezzled more than $4,000 by manipulating the
computer-based accounting records. Crowne immediately reported its findings to the
Attorney General’s Office.
Nowell pleaded guilty before Conecuh County District Judge Jeffrey Brock to
first-degree theft of property, a class B felony, after having been indicted on the same
charge by the March 2014 term of the Conecuh County grand jury. Nowell was
sentenced to 14 months imprisonment, which was suspended, and she was placed on 14
months supervised probation. She also was ordered to pay $4,280 in restitution to
Crowne management and a $500 fine.
The case was investigated by the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control
Unit and was prosecuted by Assistant Attorney General Jon Moody.
“We are grateful for the diligence of the facility’s management in discovering this
theft and taking prompt action to bring the defendant to justice,” said Attorney General
Strange. “Today’s conviction should serve as a message that preying upon vulnerable
nursing home residents will not be tolerated.”
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501 Washington Avenue * Montgomery, AL 36104 * (334) 242-7300
www.ago.alabama.gov
