Woman who cared for disabled adults is charged with stealing from them

By Andy Humbles • THE TENNESSEAN • August 5, 2009 A Nashville woman has been indicted on charges of stealing from three mentally disabled adults in her care, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. In December 2007, Zanira A. Dudley, 37, stole from a mentally disabled resident she managed personal funds and cared for while working at Friendship Home Solutions on Plus Park Boulevard, the TBI says. Dudley is also accused of creating fraudulent and forged receipts and falsely claiming they were patient expenses to get reimbursed out of the accounts of two other mentally disabled people in 2008. She was then working as a program coordinator for New Horizons on Harding Place. Dudley stole $3,100 from the three people, according to the TBI. She was arrested while working at Volunteers of America in Nashville and apparently was changing jobs every several years, the TBI said. Dudley was indicted on one count of theft, one count of forgery, three counts of criminal simulation and four counts of abuse of a vulnerable adult. The case has been under investigation by the TBI's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit since October 2008.