Former Assisted Living Home Employee Sentenced to 40 Months for Theft From Residents

A former employee of an assisted living home in Warrenville will serve 40 months in jail for stealing more than $8,000 from residents, DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert B. Berlin announced Friday

Judge Kathryn Creswell on Friday sentenced Linda Cottrell, the former House Manager of the Cupertino Home in Warrenville to 40 months in the Illinois Department of Corrections after she pleaded guilty on Nov. 15.

Cottrell, 37, of Justice, was charged with one count of Financial Exploitation of a Person With a Disability, a Class 2 Felony.

The sentencing stems from allegations that from December, 2008 through December, 2011, Cottrell took residents’ ATM cards from a safe at the home without permission. She would then withdraw funds from the accounts and keep the money for herself. While going over some of the residents’ accounts, a fellow employee discovered the thefts and notified authorities at the home, according to a press release from the State's Attorney's office.

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After conducting an internal examination into the missing funds, authorities at the Cupertino Home contacted the State’s Attorney’s Office for further investigation and prosecution. In all, Cottrell stole money from four different victims in the amounts of $7,698.85; $515.40; $524.20 and $110.00 for a total of $8,848.45, according to the release.

“Ms. Cottrell stole thousands of dollars from individuals who had placed a great amount of trust in her,” Berlin said in a statement. “Thanks to authorities at the Cupertino Home however, her disgraceful actions were uncovered and she will now spend the next 40 months of her life behind bars for what she did."

Cottrell will be required to serve half of her sentence before being eligible for parole. In addition to her sentence, Cottrell was also ordered to pay $8,848.45 in restitution to her victims and will also serve two years of mandatory supervised release upon completing her sentence, according to the release.