EVERETT — Amanda Rios tried to bargain with the judge even after she was sentenced to nine months in jail for stealing from developmentally disabled adults who relied on her to pay their bills and buy groceries.
“Can’t I do house arrest?”
“Can I serve my time in Spokane?”
Rios was plenty tearful Thursday when she first asked Superior Court Judge Anita Farris not to send her to jail, claiming there was no one to care for her 6-year-old son.
“I’m trying to get my life back on track. I lost my license. I lost my job at Providence,” she said.
Rios claimed she never personally benefited from the $8,800 she bilked from clients. She said she used the money from one client to help another.
That’s not what happened, Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Teresa Cox said Thursday. Rios took advantage of vulnerable people and abused her position of trust, Cox said. The defendant stole their money and left them with a pile of unpaid bills. Even after she was caught, she wrote more checks to herself from their accounts.
“With particular callousness, she placed her greed above their need for basic necessities such as food, heat and power in the winter,” Cox wrote.
One of the victims cannot speak. She has never been able to speak and is dependant on others, a social worker with Adult Protective Services told the judge Thursday.
“Ms. Rios used the victim’s money for her own benefit,” the social worker said. “The damage goes well beyond a specific dollar amount.”
Rios worked for the now-defunct Smithwright Services, a Lynnwood nonprofit that advertised supportive services for adults with developmental disabilities. Rios was hired as a manager in May 2014 and assigned to help clients with their finances. The clients could live on their own with assistance but couldn’t manage their bills.
The thefts came to light when the mother of one of the residents picked up her daughter. The house was dark and cold. The electricity had been shut off earlier in the day. The bill hadn’t been paid in several months.
An investigation revealed that clients’ bank accounts had been overdrawn. Checks had been written on the accounts, but the clients never received any of the money or goods purchased. Two clients also were missing their state electronic benefits cards. A third woman, who lived at a different address, also had money taken from her bank account.
An audit of their bank accounts revealed that Rios had written checks to herself from the victims’ accounts, Cox wrote in charging papers. Rios also used unauthorized checks at various stores, including Fred Meyer and Home Depot.
“We initially thought it was a slight lapse in judgment but were soon shocked to discover that Ms. Rios had been deceiving us for the entire time she had been caring for our daughter,” one victim’s parents wrote.
Rios took the money their daughter received from the Social Security Administration. She also siphoned off money from “our daughter’s hard earned work at Papa Murphy’s,” the mother wrote.
Their daughter doesn’t understand the full impact of the financial abuse but she is angry that Rios took her checks from Papa Murphy’s. Her daughter has been proud of having her own job and making her own money, the woman wrote.
Rios pleaded guilty in November to one count of first-degree theft and two counts of second-degree theft. Farris agreed to give the defendant another two weeks to find childcare before reporting to the jail. Rios was ordered to pay back the money she took.
As part of her plea Rios admitted that the crimes were particularly egregious because of the victim’s vulnerability and the abuse of her position. The aggravating factors weren’t part of a jury verdict so Farris couldn’t go outside the standard sentence range.
But Farris denied the defense request for a first-time offender waiver, which could have spared Rios jail time. The judge concluded that Rios deserved the maximum sentence allowed by law.
“There’s stealing and then there is stealing,” Farris said. “You stole from people who couldn’t protect themselves.”
Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463; hefley@heraldnet.com.
Help for disabled victims of exploitation
If you know a senior or someone with disabilities who may be the victim of abuse, neglect or financial exploitation, the state offers resources. For long-term care adults, call 800-562-6078. For all others, call 866-363-4276. Additional resources are available at the state attorney general’s website at www.atg.wa.gov/vulnerable-adult-abuse.
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