MONTGOMERY COUNTY CAREGIVER GUILTY OF NEGLECTING THREE DEVELOPMENTALLY DISABLED ADULTS

Attorney General J. Joseph Curran, Jr. announced today that Idrisa Tomboyeke , a caregiver at CHI Centers, Inc. in Montgomery County pled guilty to one count of neglect of a vulnerable adult for leaving three developmentally disabled adults alone and unattended for several hours.

Judge Brian Kim of the District Court for Montgomery County sentenced Tomboyeke to one year in jail, suspending all but three weekends. Judge Kim placed the defendant on three years supervised probation and ordered the Defendant to refrain from providing care to vulnerable individuals during his probation period. Judge Kim also imposed a $5,000 fine, all suspended, and ordered Tomboyeke to pay all courts costs.

Tomboyeke, 49, of the 400 block of Torrington Place in Silver Spring, was a paid day caregiver. According to the Statement of Facts, on February 7, 2004 and while he was employed at CHI Centers, working at a home in Derwood Maryland, Tomboyeke was responsible for caring for three developmentally disabled adults: David G., who suffers from Down Syndrome and a seizure disorder and is blind in one eye; Rujay C. who is partially paralyzed; and John T. who also suffers from a seizure disorder. Each of these men requires 24 hour supervision and assistance with their activities of daily living. Under no circumstances were they to be left alone or unsupervised. At approximately 12:00 p.m. that day, Tomboyeke left the men alone. Another caregiver arrived to give the men their medications at 2:00 p.m. and the defendant was not there. One of the men ran toward her saying “alone, alone.” Tomboyeke did not return to the home until 2:20 p.m. Tomboyeke was fully aware that these men could not be left alone.

At sentencing, Tomboyeke told the judge that he left the home to get lunch. Even though the home was stocked with food, the defendant said that he wanted something different to eat. When asked why it took more than two hours for him to return from the McDonalds that was just a couple of miles away, Tomboyeke said that there was a long line at the restaurant and then he stayed to eat his lunch.

This case was prosecuted by Attorney General Curran’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, which has jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute abuse or neglect of vulnerable adults in facilities that receive Medicaid funds.

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