A “professional fraudster and identity thief” previously convicted — twice — of stealing from older adults and a co-worker was sentenced last week to four years in prison for stealing from two assisted living communities where she was employed using her sister’s identity.
Nema Yasin Mohamed pleaded guilty in May to four felony counts of grand theft from elder by caretaker, fraudulent use of access card information, grand theft and identity theft with a prior conviction. Her actions were described as the “height of callousness” in a sentencing memorandum, which said she “took advantage of a position of trust to victimize vulnerable victims.”
The charges are connected to a series of thefts of $18,000 in cash, checks, credit cards and property from residents and a registered nurse while she was employed at La Vida Del Mar in Solana Beach, CA, in May and June 2018, and Wesley Palms Senior Living in Pacific Beach, CA, in January 2019.
Mohamed allegedly used the stolen cash and credit cards to buy hair extensions and wigs, a curling iron, hair products, clothing, purses and electronics.
Prosecutors labeled Mohamed a “criminal bully” for using physical threats to obtain her sister’s identity to secure jobs at the two assisted living communities after her two previous convictions barred her from working in senior living.
Mohamed previously was charged in June 2020 with 31 felony counts alleging identity theft, first degree residential burglary, grand theft from elder by caretaker, grand theft, fraudulent use of access car information and identifying information theft with prior. She previously received five years probation and was in custody in Maryland for violating her probation. California prosecutors extradited Mohamed to the state to face the new charges.
In the previous convictions, Mohamed also used her sister’s identity to get a job at Harrah’s Resort Southern California in Valley Center, where she allegedly stole customers’ credit card information in 2018. She also was investigated for performing a “hot prowl burglary” of a Lyft customer in 2020, reportedly stealing more than $10,000 in property, electronics, credit cards and identification.
San Diego Superior Court Judge Laura Halgren denied a request for probation in the recent case, sentencing Mohamed to four years in the county jail. In the sentencing memorandum, prosecutors wrote that releasing Mohamed under probation would represent a threat to public safety, as her “past probationary performance makes clear that any supervision has no effect with respect to her successful reentry into the community. Ms. Mohamed continues to commit crimes and victimize vulnerable citizens even when she IS being supervised.”
“Stealing from senior citizens doesn’t only rob them of their cash, it robs them of their independence and endangers their overall financial health,” Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement.
The criminal investigation into Mohamed was conducted by the Department of Justice’s Division of Medi-Cal Fraud and Elder Abuse in collaboration with the Bureau of Grambling Control, the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office, the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office, and the San Diego Police Department.
