Ex-Riverside Rest Home staffer to plead guilty to stealing relative's checks

DOVER — Jen Bryant is set to enter a guilty plea and be sentenced later this month for allegedly stealing Social Security checks from a relative at Strafford County's Riverside Rest Home, where Bryant was employed.

Bryant's negotiated plea deal will be heard by Judge Mark Howard at Strafford County Superior Court on Jan. 31, at 11 a.m. said Senior Assistant Attorney General Bryan Townsend.

Bryant, 48, of East Rochester, was billing coordinator at the rest home in Dover when she was arrested in February 2023. The charges at the time, two Class A felonies, theft by unauthorized taking and financial exploitation, alleged that in 2019, Bryant used her job to bring her relative's bill to zero and spent the money on herself.

Details of negotiated plea

On Jan. 31, Judge Howard can accept or reject the negotiated plea.

Townsend said as part of the plea, Bryant will plead guilty to the theft by unauthorized taking felony, and the second charge will not be processed.

For the single charge, Townsend said they will ask for a sentence of 5-10 years in the New Hampshire Department of Corrections, with three years suspended from the minimum sentence, meaning she could serve as little as two years or as much as 10.

"Those three years will be suspended for 15 years upon her release from incarceration," said Townsend. "She will also pay $71,548 in restitution and will need to submit to drug and alcohol screening regularly and complete any mandated counseling and education programs."

When released Bryant will need a licensed alcohol and drug abuse counselor screening and she will be ordered not to consume any drugs or alcohol not prescribed by a doctor. She will be prohibited from working in any billing or accounting capacity and she cannot act as a fiduciary agent for any purpose for 15 years.

"She is also not to work with the elderly or any impaired adults," Townsend said.

What the charges alleged

Bryant, is charged with taking $74,504 from her relative, said Townsend. He said the charge alleges Bryant misappropriated Social Security checks from May 2019 to May 2022.

"We became aware of this about a year ago," said Strafford County Commission Chair George Maglaras, in an earlier interview. "We brought it to the attention of the county attorney, who turned it over to the attorney general's office."

Townsend said a new billing coordinator, who took over Bryant's position "discovered several discrepancies in an account and brought it to the attention of the county officials."

According to court documents detailing the allegations filed in Strafford County Superior Court, Bryant's elderly relative moved into Riverside Rest Home in 2018 and is listed as having dementia. Her rent at Riverside was paid partly through her Social Security checks, with Medicaid covering the difference. Bryant, who had worked as the Riverside Rest Home resident account director (billing coordinator) since 2005, was responsible for those payments.

Instead, prosecutors allege she listed the account as owing zero and opened an account at Citizens Bank, depositing the Social Security checks. She allegedly used a debit card from the account 1,550 times, writing 77 checks, signed by her, listed as the power of attorney for her relative. There is no evidence her relative ever used the account, prosecutors allege.

Maglaras said she was terminated on May 4, 2022. He said the county is fully insured for the losses.

Bryant is represented by attorney Brian Stone, who did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

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Stolen money allegedly spent on salons, booze, vacations, home improvements

According to allegations in an affidavit filed in Strafford County Superior Court, the money was used as follows:

Retail purchases, $16,262.06Salons, $11,213.22Cash withdrawals, $10,126.03Restaurants, $9,974.77Alcohol, $7,115.85Checks to Bryant and husband, $6,235Groceries, $4,957.67Travel/vacations, $3,734.13Vehicle, $2,313.11Home improvements, $1,536.68Entertainment, $1,036

"Because she was a county employee, and because the attorney general has a Medicaid fraud bureau, we turned the investigation over to them," Maglaras said. "It was certainly an elaborate scheme, but eventually we caught it."

Bryant was fired previously and charged twice for driving intoxicated

Maglaras said Bryant was dismissed in early May 2022 after coming to work intoxicated.

"We asked her not to drive and she ignored that and took off," Maglaras said. "We called Dover police and she was arrested for driving under the influence."

Dover police confirmed Bryant was arrested in May for driving under the influence. In 2019, she was arrested by Rochester police for the same charge.

Maglaras said they were aware of her problem and made efforts to get her help.

Authorities advise reporting crimes against elders to local police and the state Department of Health and Human Services, Bureau of Elderly and Adult Services at 1-800-949-0470.

This article originally appeared on Fosters Daily Democrat: Ex-Riverside Rest Home staffer to plead guilty to stealing checks