Caretaker for Elderly Gets Prison for Thefts

A Santa Ana woman who posed as a caretaker for the elderly was sentenced to three years in prison for stealing from her patients, which included a 92-year-old woman whose diamond wedding ring was taken right off her finger as she slept, prosecutors said Tuesday.

Orange County Superior Court Judge John J. Ryan sentenced Sondra Joanna Khosla after she pleaded guilty to two counts of residential burglary, posing as a caretaker to steal from the elderly and stealing a firearm.

Khosla, 48, was arrested in October after an investigation by the Newport Beach Police Department discovered a trove of stolen property--jewelry, antiques, credit cards and china--in her Santa Ana motel room and in a rented storage locker in Tustin, officials said.

Authorities believe the items were stolen over three years from Khosla’s clients in California, Arizona and Utah. The defendant sought temporary work under a variety of aliases.

The victims included the 92-year-old woman, who was also missing family heirlooms and a credit card. Prosecutors say Khosla also stole a dagger and handgun from another victim, a 91-year-old Garden Grove man, who employed the defendant while his regular attendant was on vacation.

Police were tipped off when the elderly woman reported the stolen ring. That triggered an investigation that discovered at least four other elderly people who reported missing items. The common denominator was Khosla.

All of the stolen property was recovered, according to a statement released Tuesday by the Orange County district attorney’s office.