Four-year sentence for B.C. woman who posed as a care aide to defraud seniors

SURREY, B.C. – Police say a British Columbia woman who posed as a care aide and defrauded seniors has been sentenced to four years in jail, less time served, as well as two years of probation.

A statement from Surrey RCMP says 20 victims were identified in Surrey, Richmond and White Rock, and the woman has been ordered to pay about $60,000 in restitution.

Police say Ana Chamdal attended the residences or care homes of elderly victims under the ruse of providing them health services, then obtained their banking information and withdrew funds from their accounts.

Investigators say she also stole cellphones, jewelry and wallets before she was arrested in April 2022 and released with conditions.

But police say she continued to target seniors and she was rearrested for offences against a 96-year-old in Richmond and a 95-year-old in White Rock, and on Feb. 1, 2023, she was remanded in custody.

Chamdal was sentenced on Monday after pleading guilty last year to more than 30 charges in Surrey Provincial Court, including fraud over $5,000, being unlawfully in a dwelling, unauthorized use of a credit card and using a forged document.

A statement from the BC Prosecution Service says she was credited with 860 days for the time she spent in pre-sentence custody.

Prosecutors say Chamdal is banned for 10 years from employment or volunteering in any capacity “that involves having authority over the real property, money or valuable security of another person.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 30, 2024.