Hunter
02/11/26
A Muscatine nursing home administrator has agreed to pause practicing while an investigation into her alleged theft of thousands of dollars from an elderly resident continues.
Iowa Capital Dispatch reports 34 year old Chelsi Ingles of Tipton is facing charges of first-degree felony theft against an older individual, dependent adult abuse by exploitation, ongoing criminal conduct and tampering with records. She has pleaded not guilty to each of the charges.
Prosecutors say Ingles was working as the administrator at the Aspire of Muscatine nursing home in December 2023 when she stole two checks from a female resident. She allegedly cashed one of the checks, collected $8500, and deposited only $3500 into the resident’s trust account at the home.
The second check, for the same amount, was allegedly deposited a week later into an account Ingles set up in her and the resident’s name. Later that day she transferred the funds to a joint account with her husband.
Executives at Aspire learned of the thefts in January 2024 and asked Ingles to return the money and provide receipts for purchases that were made with the trust account money. Ingles allegedly returned just a portion of the money and provided questionable documentation suggesting the rest of the money was used to purchase things for the resident.
Aspire is also accused of violating the law by failing to report the theft to law enforcement or the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing.
The website reports Aspire of Muscatine’s most recent inspection led to 17 regulatory violations, and the home currently has a one out of five star rating on the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services quality scale.
If convicted on all the charges against her, Ingles could be sentenced to up to 57 years in prison.