Caregiver who stole $4,000 from disabled people who couldn't talk gets 8 months in jail

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Andrea McEwan (right) awaits her sentencing hearing in Multnomah County Circuit Court on Monday. Defense attorney Erik Eklund (center) and deputy district attorney Ross Caldwell are also pictured.

(Aimee Green/The Oregonian)

A 48-year-old caregiver who stole about $4,000 from two developmentally disabled Southeast Portland residents, both of whom are in wheelchairs and don't have the ability to speak, was sentenced Monday to eight months in jail.

Andrea McEwan told authorities she made $11 an hour as a caregiver and she stole because she had gotten divorced, lost her house and was trying to feed her teenage son.

McEwan pleaded guilty in September in Multnomah County Circuit Court to four counts of identity theft and one count of first-degree criminal mistreatment for siphoning off money the two victims were receiving from the government over the course of years.

Andrea McEwan

She was sentenced Monday -- about four months later -- to give her time to make some money to start paying the two victims back. McEwan showed up to court with $1,000 in cash. McEwan had faced 10 months in jail if she didn’t have Monday’s initial payment in hand.

Judge Youlee You also sentenced McEwan to five years of probation as part of her plea agreement.

McEwan won’t be allowed to work as an adult caregiver again.

She worked as the house coordinator at Dungarvin, which helps developmentally disabled people with life's tasks. She resigned in April 2013 after other staff discovered the money was missing from the two residents' accounts, and that someone had used a computer to change numbers in their bank statements to hide the theft.

-- Aimee Green

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