Owner of Baltimore City Assisted Living Facility Charged
with Stealing from a Resident

BALTIMORE, MD (January 30, 2008) - Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler announced today that James Edward Breakfield, 51, of Baltimore City, was indicted by a circuit court grand jury in Baltimore City with one count of Misappropriation by a Fiduciary and one count of Felony Theft for allegedly stealing funds from a former resident of a Baltimore City assisted living facility owned by Breakfield.

Misappropriation by a Fiduciary is a misdemeanor punishable by not less than one year imprisonment and not exceeding five years. Felony Theft is punishable by up to 15 years imprisonment and a $25,000 fine. A criminal indictment is an accusation, and an individual is presumed innocent unless the State proves him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This case is being prosecuted by Attorney General Gansler’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit based on a referral from the Baltimore City Commission on Aging and Retirement Education Long Term Care Ombudsman Program. The Medicaid Fraud Control Unit has authority to prosecute abuse and neglect of vulnerable persons, including financial exploitation that occurs in assisted living homes, nursing homes and group homes throughout the State of Maryland.