Owner of group home charged with theft

She’s accused of stealing from disabled residents in her care

The owner of a Burlington group home for disabled adults has been accused of stealing thousands of dollars from three men in her care.

Becky Ann Borucki, 55, is facing nine felony charges, including three counts each of: theft of movable property with special facts; personal identity theft for financial gain; and theft of movable property.

The special facts associated with the first charge has to do with the fact that the three victims are cognitively disabled adults and require assistance in the handling of their financial affairs.

The charges were filed May 3 in Racine County Circuit Court following a months-long investigation by the City of Burlington Police Department.

Borucki was the owner and operator of a group home at 425 Herman Street at the time the alleged crimes occurred.

According to the criminal complaint filed by the Racine County district attorney’s office, the sister and legal guardian of one of the victims became aware of discrepancies in her brother’s banking account last fall after she was contacted by a representative of North Shore Bank.

The sister, working with Officer Jody Borchardt, discovered more than $8,500 in unauthorized transactions to her brother’s account between August 2011 and January 2012. That amount includes not only funds believed to be stolen, but also overdraft fees incurred on the account.

The complaint notes numerous transactions in which checks were written out directly to Borucki. The sister also told investigators she could tell the checks were not written by her brother. The sister said that she did not give anyone else permission to access her brother’s accounts.

The investigation included two other residents of the group home, whose guardians also discovered alleged theft.

The sister and guardian of a second victim told police she believes approximately $4,400 was taken from her brother’s account containing inheritance money from their parents’ estate.

Some of the funds were allegedly used to book a Caribbean cruise that the victim never took.

The complaint further alleges that the second victim was deprived of $6,249 in wages earned from his job at Careers Industries, a sheltered workshop for disabled adults. According to the complaint, 42 payroll checks were issued to the man between January 2010 and October 2011 with most of the checks endorsed by Borucki or endorsed by the victim and marked “pay to the order of” Borucki.

The guardian of a third victim reported similar instances of alleged theft after being contacted by police. In that instance, it appeared $5,097 was missing from the victim’s account.

A preliminary hearing in Borucki’s case has been scheduled for 8:30 a.m. June 6 in Racine County Circuit Court.