Former Caregiver Charged with Neglect

BALTIMORE, MD (October 10, 2007) - Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler announced today that Haendel Paul, 28, of the 10-thousand block of Jason Lane in Columbia was charged with three counts of neglect of a vulnerable adult. Paul, a former caregiver at Creative Options, Inc., is accused of leaving three developmentally disabled men who were in his care alone and unattended.

Neglect of a vulnerable adult is a misdemeanor punishable by five years in jail and/or a $5,000 fine. A criminal charge is merely an accusation of wrongdoing and the defendant is presumed innocent unless the State proves him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Trial is scheduled on November 19 in the District Court of Maryland for Baltimore County in Towson.

This case is being prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit based on a referral from the Baltimore County Police Department.