The Autumn Leaves facility near White Rock Lake said it has cooperated with investigators and the actions “are not reflective of our community’s culture.”
DALLAS — Police have arrested the former business manager of a retirement community near White Rock Lake and accused her of depositing more than $1.8 million from 102 elderly residents or their loved ones into her personal accounts.
Diane Dancer was arrested Friday and charged with theft, with a bond set at $100,000, according to court records. The arrest follows an investigation into missing rent payments at the northeast Dallas facility.
According to an arrest warrant affidavit, Dancer allegedly instructed residents to make their rent checks and money orders payable to an LLC she controlled, then deposited the payments into her bank accounts rather than the facility’s accounts.
“The people who were writing checks, they wouldn’t know any different because she’s the business manager, so they were writing the checks to her LLC,” said Molly Terry, whose mother lives at Autumn Leaves. “The money was going directly into her bank account.”
The scheme came to light after Terry and another volunteer, April McElhone, began investigating discrepancies in resident payments. They had initially estimated the theft at $67,000 affecting about 30 seniors, but the investigation revealed a much larger scope.
“As we’ve discovered now, it’s 102 people and it’s $1.8 million,” Terry said. “It’s just so horrible to do that to people, and now that we know the amount, she was doing it on a very large scale.”
Autumn Leaves put Dancer on leave after finding out about the discrepancy, she resigned days later.
In a statement, the company said: “Ms. Dancer’s actions are not reflective of our community’s culture or values, and we are thankful for the ongoing support of our residents, families, and employees throughout this investigation.”
Autumn Leaves thanked the Dallas Police Department and prosecutors for their work and said the company would continue to work with investigators.
The company has assured residents they will not have to repay the stolen rent money. However, the incident has left some feeling violated and questioning how the theft could have gone undetected for so long.
“I guess you feel betrayed by the people you’re supposed to trust,” Terry said, adding, “Why did it take me to find it rather than the people who work here?”
One resident, Jacqueline Bartlett, previously reported losing nearly $15,000 to the scheme, and said she had been directed to make her rent checks out to a different company for seven months before the fraud was discovered.