A 58-year-old Alabaster woman has been sentenced to the Shelby County Jail after authorities say she stole tens of thousands of dollars from two nursing homes where she was business office manager.
Paige Taylor Smith in May pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree theft of property, a Class B felony.
On Monday, she was sentenced to 46 months in prison, with 12 to serve in the county jail followed by 12 months of supervised probation.
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said Smith paid $54,830 in restitution prior to Monday’s sentencing.
Marshall’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit investigated the case after a referral from the Alabama Department of Public Health.
The investigation determined that Smith had stolen $52,000 from three residents of AHAVA Healthcare of Alabaster, while she was employed as the facility’s business office manager.
During that investigation, it was found that, after her employment at AHAVA was terminated, Smith obtained employment at Crowne Healthcare of Montgomery, where she stole $3,000 from a resident of that facility.
“Theft from residents of a nursing home is a reprehensible act and those who victimize them must be held to account under the law,” Marshall said.
“My office, working with other state and local agencies, will remain vigilant to identify and prosecute criminals who prey upon the vulnerable.”
