Care Aide Sentenced After Draining $260,000 From an Elderly Couple's Accounts

On December 13, 2018, Antonette Dizon — a 50-year-old Burnaby home care aide placed by an agency with Henry and Helen Abfalter, both 86 years old and in deteriorating health at their Coquitlam retirement home — was sentenced in Port Coquitlam Provincial Court after pleading guilty to one count of fraud over $5,000 under section 380(1)(a) of the Criminal Code of Canada following a sixteen-month scheme in which she stole approximately $260,000 from the couple's chequing and savings accounts. Dizon had memorized Henry Abfalter's debit card PIN during assisted banking trips and, after removing his card from his wallet when he was hospitalized in December 2014, began making near-daily ATM withdrawals at the maximum daily limit of $1,000 across machines throughout the Lower Mainland — continuing even after Henry died in September 2015 and after she had formally stopped working for the family, all while maintaining a social relationship with Helen Abfalter and visiting her on Christmas and Mother's Day. The fraud was uncovered on April 28, 2016, when the Abfalters' daughter, holding power of attorney, noticed the account balance had collapsed from approximately $490,000 to roughly $200,000 and reported it to Coquitlam RCMP, whose Economic Crime Unit obtained ATM surveillance footage conclusively identifying Dizon. Provincial Court Judge Robin McQuillan sentenced her to 12 months in custody, 18 months of probation, and $105,000 in restitution. Helen Abfalter — who initially refused to believe someone she called the kindest person she knew was capable of such betrayal — died nine months after the crime was uncovered, with her daughter stating in a victim impact statement that the fraud had overshadowed her mother's final months entirely. Disclaimer: This video is a dramatization based on real events. Some visual content was created with artificial intelligence assistance. Some details have been fictionalized and all names have been changed to protect the privacy of those involved.