Video: Nursing home worker sentenced for stealing from residents

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PACIFIC COUNTY, Wash. – Sandra Gilbert was trusted to watch over the accounts of nursing home residents, but instead she stole thousands of dollars from them to support a slot-machine addiction.

Thursday, she came into court in tears for the sentencing of her crime.

The sentencing marked the end of a scheme that bilked nursing home residents for nearly $60,000.

"Take this opportunity to say how sorry I am… to those I betrayed… sorry to those who trusted me," she said.

As business manager at Willapa Harbor Care Center in Raymond, the 63-year-old paid herself with funds taken directly from accounts of seniors on Medicaid.

A nursing home employee read a statement from one of the 33 victims: "I live here with everything I own in one entire room. When this happened, I felt dehumanized. How could anyone do that to another?"

Gilbert cashed the checks by stealing the identities of two co-workers. She said she used the money to feed her gambling habit – one forged check at a time. Most of it was lost in slot machines at the Shoalwater Bay Casino in Tokeland.

"I am not a horrible person. I am however a person with an addiction needing help and support. Your honor, I am begging for leniency," she cried.

The Pacific County judge sentenced Sandra Gilbert to 10 years in prison and she must reimburse the people she stole from. However, some have passed away since she took their money.

Sandra Gilbert has prior convictions for embezzlement, burglary and forgery dating back to the 1970s.

When she applied for the job at the nursing home, she said her only run-in with the law was a ticket for an illegal u-turn.