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Project Description
Hello and welcome to my page!
My name is Carolyn and I’d like to thank you for your visit. Your time and attention is ever appreciated.
My story begins roughly three years before now, when I brought my three step brothers, my sister and my father into my home. After hearing that they were living in an abandoned house in New York for quite some time, I decided to visit them and had the chance to personally see the deplorable conditions in which they were living.
There were only two rooms with two mattresses on the floor in one bedroom where all six of them slept together. Alongside this fact, there was no food in the refridgerator and a big leak in the ceiling causing occassional flooding in their basement.
With this information, I made the decision to take them back with me to CT in an effort to give them a better platform from where they could rise to more successful ventures.
Back at home, I was working a lot but it was more than feasible because I had an amazing career in nursing with full benefits.
After a time of about six months, with none of my new residents/family taking initiative in terms of seeking or landing employment, I noticed that occassionally my belongings began to disappear. At first, I had denied the fact that this was going on, because I knew they had everything they needed. However, after my medication had been stolen right from my purse, I had no choice but to file a police report. This was not the last time it had come to this. I did not understand the gravity of what I was getting myself into.
The crux of the ordeal which proved to be the final nail in the coffin started with one of my clients who regularly gave me his credit card for his general needs every week for over two years prior to the arrival of my new tenants. For this reason, it came as a largely unexpected surprise to hear from him that it had been charged over $30,000.00!
Fortunately, the credit card was reported stolen immediately and the funds reimbursed to him.
The first chance we had to sit down together, my client and I went through the list of purchases provided by his credit card company. Items such expensive jewelery and a vast arsenal of clothes including menswear and everything you need for a newborn including a changing table, a crib and other furniture bombarded the twenty-page report. Also included, were four X-boxes and video games to boot. Perhaps the most harrowing of all was the tie between the items for baby and the fact that one of my step-brothers’ girlfriend had just delivered a child.
With this, I presented the information to my step-siblings and father who had denied knowing anything of the situation. One week later, I guess their nerves began to get the best of them because that one step-brother I had mainly suspected admitted to me that he’d taken my client’s card from my purse sitting on the kitchen counter one day.
I was shocked, furious, embarrassed and completely devasted about the entire scenario either way, as my job let me go when I decided to be honest with them about what happened.
A month later, my family went back to New York to avoid trouble. Because investigations were taking so long, a year went by before they arrested me on allegations of larceny for my step-brother. This led to the loss of my second job and the beginning of the difficult period I’m currently facing.
Since losing my place in the nursing field, I have made many efforts to keep my family afloat and reach out for help. Perhaps my most bold approach was appearing on the Dr. Phil Show in hopes to share my story. Incredibly enough, he admitted to taking the credit card and using it once more on live television. What I did gain from this venture is an assessment of my situation with fresh eyes from the investigators who work for the show. They ultimately showed the evidence did not point to me having anything to do with this, especially because the items weren’t converted after purchase into money and because I never go to any of the four addresses the items were sent.
All other things aside, I have tried relentlessly to land employment but everytime my criminal record shows that I have a pending larceny charge, the employer changes their mind, despite my strong suit of nursing and administrative skills. To make matters worse, The Day newspaper posted in an article both my resume and information about my arrest.
All I have to do is wait until the court/judicial system proves me innocent. With every continuance, I’ve had to wait to find real work. Additionally, I have spent all of the major funds I had on my attorney and bills.
A small side note is the police department took eight months to produce a report to my lawyer which included literally 1,000 pages. The police found out it was not me who took the credit card on the day of my arrest.
This is why I was released on a “Promise To Appear” (PTA) the next morning on a $75,000.00 bond!
In addition, I am still raising my youngest step-brother, as he has no one else to care for him. In fact, I obtained my foster care license just to adopt him.
My goal is simply for help with my mortgage and my living expenses until the court produces a notice allowing me to provide consolation for my pending charge to a prospective employer. The ideal situation is that the court rules me innocent, but a note will be better than no work due to continuances on such a large case.
I am so thankful for your kindness and I know that there is a law higher than the one we currently use here. Every dollar is a vote and your support reminds me of the connection and compassion which can sometimes be hard to find in times like this.
Thank you,
Carolyn