After receiving her conviction earlier in the month, 50-year-old Julia Maria Bell received her sentence on Tuesday, March 17. The court found Bell guilty of four counts of elder abuse because of theft that occurred while she was a live-in caregiver.
From late 2016 until the end of 2017, Bell was the live-in caregiver for a Kennesaw woman who had suffered a stroke. As a caregiver, she was given access to the woman’s finances. The Cobb County District Attorney stated that Bell had used the woman’s credit cards. She then opened her own card using her client’s Costco Visa card.
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The family had noticed some inconsistencies and unusual charges on the woman’s account. Bell was using the woman’s account for her own personal gain. By the time Bell’s theft was found, she had accumulated $20,000 in purchases.
Senior Assistant District Attorney Jason Marbutt expressed in a statement that Bell was defiant until the conviction was handed down by the jury. She insisted that what she did was not wrong. The jury found her guilty of manipulating the elderly woman.
A judge sentenced Bell to five years in prison for the four counts of elder abuse in conjunction with the theft.
She was also given a probation sentence of 10 years after her prison sentence. Bell must also pay over $19,000 in restitution to the Kennesaw woman and her family for the money that she stole while she was employed by them.
