Editor's note: Details in this story may be unsettling for some readers.
After an elderly woman was hospitalized covered in filth and insects before dying from a related infection last year, her daughter and granddaughter, as well as a registered nurse, have been charged for allegedly neglecting her.
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Eva Cardoso, the daughter of Dinora Cardoso, has also been charged with manslaughter in Dinora's death, the Massachusetts attorney general and Plymouth County district attorney's offices said Friday. Medicaid fraud charges were also brought against Eva and her niece, Dinora's granddaughter Kayla Cardoso.
Dinora Cardoso died on May 19, 2023, from necrotizing fasciitis and sepsis — serious infections — caused by infected ulcers, prosecutors said. Two days earlier, she'd been rushed to a Brockton hospital by first responders who found her covered in cockroaches, bedbugs and feces.
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Eva had called 911, according to prosecutors. She was employed as her mother's personal care attendant, receiving more than $140,000 for the job from MassHealth. Kayla was a surrogate in the program, regularly receiving a portion of Eva's checks.
The two relatives from Brockton allegedly billed MassHealth for services that they didn't provide Dinora, including while she was in the hospital and after her death.
The registered nurse who was charged, Lisa Hamilton, was supposed to visit Dinora at least once a week, according to prosecutors. A week before Dinora was hospitalized, Hamilton reported that Dinora was clean, alert, well-cared-for and with her diabetes under control.
But Dinora's diabetes was found to be completely uncontrolled, prosecutors said. And they said that, while there was no record of ulcers, insects or feces in Hamilton's report, an insect expert told investigators that it would have taken weeks for Dinora's infestation to accumulate.
Eva Cardoso, 53, was charged with manslaughter, caretaker neglect, Medicaid fraud and larceny, officials said. Her bail was set at $5,000, and was ordered to have no contact with witnesses, not travel out of state and not to work in health care with children or the elderly.
Kayla Cardoso, 31, was charged with caretaker neglect, Medicaid fraud and larceny. Her bail was set at $500 with the same conditions.
Hamilton, a 64-year-old from Stoughton, was charged with caretaker neglect and fraudulent claims. Her bail was set at $500 and was ordered not to have contact with witnesses or travel out of state; she can continue to work as a nurse with supervision.
All three women were indicted Tuesday and appeared in Brockton Superior Court Friday, where they pleaded not guilty. They're due back for a hearing Jan. 15.
Prosecutors had initially said one of the people was being sought in the case.
