Brenda Lee Johnson, 53, of Keller, entered a plea of no contest in Accomack court.
A woman hired to care for elderly family members entered an Alford plea in Accomack County Circuit Court on Thursday to each of seven counts of forgery, credit card fraud and larceny.
Brenda Lee Johnson, 53, of Keller, entered a plea of no-contest, which means she does not admit to the crime but knows the commonwealth has enough evidence for a conviction. Johnson worked as a caretaker for Lynn Sherwood’s mother.
The agreed upon rate for Johnson was $10 an hour, said Commonwealth’s Attorney Spencer Morgan. Johnson altered her paychecks by changing the written amount, he said.
One check written by Sherwood for $720 was changed to $820, Morgan said. Another check written for $890 was changed to $1,890.
There is a photo of the defendant presenting the checks at each of the banks, said Morgan. When confronted by police, Johnson denied altering the checks, he told the court.
A second case with a different family involved credit card larceny, Morgan said. Cathy Hall hired Johnson to care for a family member.
Hall noticed fraudulent charges on her credit card bill. There was a charge on her Discover card to pay a Dish Network bill.
Investigation showed the address on the Dish bill was at a house owned by Johnson’s deceased parents, where she now lived. Morgan said there was money missing from that employer as well but police were unable to get fingerprints or DNA to prove that charge.
"These are her first serious charges," said defense attorney Paul Watson. "She has no (previous) felony record."
He asked that his client be allowed to remain on bond until her sentencing so she can pay restitution. She owes restitution in the amount of $1,100 to Lynn Sherwood and $178.85 for the credit card fraud.
Though the victim did not have to pay, "Someone is out that money," said Judge W. Revell Lewis.
He allowed Johnson to remain free on bond and ordered that a presentence investigation report be prepared.