North Naples nursing home employee charged of taking credit cards

A Lehigh Acres woman is accused of stealing credit cards from elderly residents of a North Naples assisted living facility and using them to make more than $3,000 worth of purchases.

As a licensed nursing assistant, Michelle Dumel, 30, had been employed at the hospital for around two years, according to a recent article by Tyler Watkins of NBC2.

According to the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, investigators discovered that she took credit cards from two people, ages 76 and 81.

Dumel visited the victims’ rooms several times a day to give them medicine and take care of their needs, according to the CCSO.

In November 2023, the 81-year-old victim claimed that her credit card had vanished from her chamber. She later discovered, according to CCSO, that it was utilized to make 35 purchases in the counties of Lee and Collier.

The CCSO’s detectives discovered that $3,707.75 worth of purchases were made in Collier County at Walmart and Target.

Detectives were able to identify Dumel as the suspect thanks to surveillance footage from the stores.

The complaint states that on December 19, Dumel tried to use the 76-year-old victim’s card to pay $134 for groceries at Publix and $50 for petrol at Mobil.

These transactions were turned down, nevertheless.

Not content yet, Dumel apparently attempted to purchase a $7 breakfast at a McDonald’s in Lehigh Acres, but her card was denied before the victim’s bank got in touch with him.

Dumel was later placed under arrest. She is accused of grand theft and unlawful use of a person 65 years of age or older’s personal identification information.

This article originally appeared on NBC2.