Nursing home worker accused of stealing from residents

A Rochester woman has been arrested and accused of stealing more than $150,000 from residents of St. John’s Home, where she worked.

Tammy Echols, 56, is charged with second-degree grand larceny, and first-degree scheme to defraud. If convicted of the top charge, she faces a maximum sentence of five to 15 years in prison.

An investigation by the Office of the Attorney General’s (OAG) Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) found that from January 2023 to August 2025, Echols used her position in the nursing home‘s business office to issue checks from the facility to her friends, associates, and local businesses to which she owed money.

After taking a fee, Echols’ friends and associates sent most of the stolen money back to Echols.

As a Senior Account Specialist at St. John’s, Echols was responsible for billing residents and their families for expenses not covered by Medicaid as well as issuing refund checks when they made overpayments to the facility.

The investigation found that Echols used her position to issue fraudulent refund checks from the nursing home to businesses she owed money to and to friends and associates who would transfer the funds to Echols after taking a small handling fee.

In total, Echols embezzled $154,525.99 that St. John’s residents had deposited with the facility to cover their expenses. The investigation found that the businesses Echols issued checks to included a local florist, a bakery, and a construction contractor.

St. John’s Home issued the following statement: “St. John’s has been fully cooperating with the Attorney General’s Office during its investigation into the alleged actions of a former employee. No residents or families were financially impacted by this situation. St. John’s had the appropriate best practices in place during this time and have since added additional oversight measures to further strengthen our processes.”