Caregiver caught stealing
Courtesy of the family
Caregiver released after stealing from Holocaust survivor
A caregiver for a Holocaust survivor who passed on last month was caught on camera stealing property from the deceased elderly woman; the property was found and the caregiver admitted to the theft, though the most important and valuable items remain missing.
A caregiver was recently released by the police, even though she admitted to stealing property from a deceased Holocaust survivor who was under her care.
The property was found in the Port of Ashdod moments before it was about to be sent to the caregiver's home in Sri Lanka.
Caregiver caught stealing (courtesy of the family)
The caregiver, a foreign worker, took care of 83-year-old Haviva Lezer until her passing on March 1. "She took good care of Mom. After her passing she cried with us at her funeral," said Ronit, Lezer's daughter.
According to Ronit, after the Shiva mourning period the family returned to the deceased woman's home to find that a lot of property was missing. After checking the home's security footage they saw the caregiver packing items such as clothing, kitchenware, food supplies, a sewing machine and even medicine in boxes—all of which were missing.
"What was most important to us was her jewelry, which we knew she hid in the sewing machine, among them was her wedding ring," noted Ronit.
courtesy of the family
courtesy of the family
The family filed a complaint with the police, who quickly tracked down the caregiver and the stolen property. Unfortunately, when the family members checked the sewing machine, they did not find the jewelry, accusing the caregiver of taking them.
The caregiver was interrogated and admitted to the theft, yet categorically denied stealing any jewelry.
After several weeks, the police decided to close the case against the caregiver for lack of public interest.
Ronit expressed displeasure over the police's decision, saying "what she did was wrong. She was treated well by us but acted contemptibly. If she would have asked, we would have given her the property she stole. We had nothing to do with it. After we got it back we donated it to charity."
"We found out that she called a worker's rights hotline complaining that we owed her money," Ronit added. "We do not deny this and are willing to pay her, but she must first return the jewelry."
(Translated & edited by Lior Mor)
