Guyanese home health aide jailed in US for stealing bonds from elderly woman

A Guyanese home health aide in the US has been jailed for 57 months for stealing savings bonds from an elderly woman.

Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced on Monday that Jhanannie Singh also known as “Jasmine” and “Sharmala Persaud,” 52, a citizen of Guyana last residing in Queens, New York, was sentenced that day by U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley in Bridgeport to 57 months of imprisonment for stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars in U.S. Savings Bonds from the elderly woman who had purchased them for her grandchildren and other family members.

According to a release from the US Department of Justice in Connecticut, court documents and statements made in court show that Singh stole hundreds of thousands of dollars in U.S. Savings Bonds from an elderly woman for whom she provided home health services. The victim had purchased the bonds for her grandchildren and other relatives. After the victim died, the release said that Singh contacted Glen Campbell, also known as “Nick,” who enlisted the help of another individual to redeem the stolen bonds at a financial institution and provide Singh and Campbell with a portion of the proceeds. Between October 2020 and January 2021, as part of an undercover probe, law enforcement coordinated the purchase of more than 100 savings bonds, with face values ranging from US$50 to US$1,000, from Singh and Campbell. Campbell travelled to Connecticut to complete the transactions.

The release said that Singh and Campbell were arrested on January 29, 2021. At the time of Singh’s and Campbell’s arrests, the value of the bonds they had delivered during the undercover investigation was

US$287,312.39.

In June and July 2021, the release said that Singh attempted to obstruct the investigation and prosecution of this matter by offering to pay a witness if he agreed to lie and provide false testimony. Singh has been detained since August 4, 2021. On August 19, 2022, she pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy.

Campbell pleaded guilty to the same charge on June 15, 2022, and awaits sentencing.

Singh faces immigration proceedings when she completes her prison term, the release added.

This matter has been investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Administration. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tara E. Levens, Michael S. McGarry and Robert S. Ruff.