Ex-nursing home employee pleads not guilty to $57K theft from Ohio patients

TROY — A Piqua woman accused of thefts from residents of the Stillwater Skilled Nursing Facility in Covington pleaded not guilty to a felony theft indictment in Miami County Common Pleas Court.

Tamara Barnes O’Toole, 41, faces a second-degree felony charge of theft from a person in a protected class. The charge alleges she stole from elderly people property valued at more than $37,500 but less than $150,000.

A theft charge was filed against O’Toole in 2023 but later dismissed with prosecutors reserving the right to refile charges. The dismissal was to allow time for additional investigation, Judge Stacy Wall was told during the arraignment hearing.

A police report from the Covington Police Department states police were called to the business in January 2023 on a fraud complaint. A business representative said an employee was suspended and that patients were missing money from their accounts.

Police said the investigation showed O’Toole allegedly placed checks into her personal account and said she was purchasing items for some patients. “Some of the patients were aware and some of them were not,” the report stated.

Police further stated she paid back “a good portion” of the money in checks, cash and Walmart gift cards after she allegedly was told law enforcement was involved. There was $57,407 determined taken, with all but $22,070 returned, according to an investigation report dated in January 2024.

O’Toole is free on a recognizance bond. A pretrial hearing was scheduled for April 15.