BOSTON, March 27, 2015— A personal care assistant has been indicted for allegedly stealing more than $128,000 from a disabled veteran while she was caring for him, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley and Boston Police Commissioner William B. Evans announced.

The Suffolk County grand jury yesterday returned indictments charging MICHELLE ALLIX (D.O.B. 12/11/66) of South Boston with eight counts of larceny over $250 from a person over 60 or disabled.  She is expected to be arraigned in Suffolk Superior Court on April 16.

Evidence developed by the Boston Police Anti-Corruption Unit and Suffolk fraud prosecutors suggests that Allix stole approximately $128,472 from the Vietnam veteran while working part-time as his personal care assistant between September 2010 and October 2013.  The Anti-Corruption Unit led the investigation because Allix is a Boston Police civilian employee. Though her offenses were not committed in any official capacity, Boston Police suspended her without pay yesterday.

“It always infuriates me when someone takes advantage of those who deserve our utmost respect and admiration,” said Commissioner Evans. “I would like to recognize the Boston Police Anti-Corruption Unit and the DA’s Special Prosecutions Unit for their work on this troubling case. My employees are held to very high standards and when they choose to conduct themselves unlawfully there are consequences.  I hope these indictments bring some comfort the victim and his family.”

“As a disabled older adult, this victim was particularly vulnerable, which makes the allegations even more disturbing,” Conley said. “Financial crimes can be very complex and difficult to investigate, but the police and prosecutors assigned to this case did some outstanding work.”

As the trusted caretaker of the now 64-year-old victim, Allix had full, unsupervised access to his bank account in order to make purchases, payments, and withdrawals authorized by the victim.  The investigation revealed, however, that she withdrew more than $120,000 – including withdrawals made from ATMs at casinos – that were unrelated to the victim’s care and expenses.  The evidence also revealed that Allix wrote several checks from the victim’s bank account to pay her own bills and credit card debt as well as a $4,000 check payable to herself.  She is additionally accused of using the victim’s debit card without his consent to make purchases from home shopping channels and kept a portion of the proceeds from the sale of the victim’s car.

The victim was living in a Brighton nursing home during much of the charged conduct, but Allix also had continuing access to the Hyde Park condominium he called home. The thefts were discovered after family members became suspicious of Allix’s actions and reviewed the victim’s bank statements.

The grand jury proceedings resulting in the indictments were led by Assistant District Attorney Michele Granda of the DA’s Special Prosecutions Unit.

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All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.