DALLAS — Diane Dancer, the former business manager of a retirement community near White Rock Lake, was arrested on Friday and charged with theft after allegedly depositing over $1.8 million into her personal accounts. The funds were taken from 102 elderly residents or their loved ones at the Autumn Leaves retirement facility.
The arrest followed an investigation into missing rent payments at the northeast Dallas facility. According to an arrest warrant affidavit, Dancer instructed residents to make rent checks and money orders payable to an LLC she controlled, instead of the facility’s accounts. She then deposited these payments into her personal bank accounts.
Molly Terry, whose mother lives at Autumn Leaves, explained, “The people who were writing checks wouldn’t know any different because she’s the business manager, so they were writing the checks to her LLC. The money was going directly into her bank account.”
The fraud scheme was uncovered when Terry and April McElhone, a volunteer, began noticing discrepancies in the resident payments. While initially estimating the theft at $67,000 from about 30 seniors, their investigation revealed a much larger operation affecting 102 people with a total of $1.8 million stolen.
Following the discovery, Autumn Leaves placed Dancer on leave, and she resigned days later. In a statement, the company expressed that Dancer’s actions were contrary to the community’s values and assured residents that they would not have to repay the stolen rent money.
The incident, however, left many feeling betrayed. Jacqueline Bartlett, one of the residents who reported losing nearly $15,000, stated she had been instructed to make rent checks payable to a different company for several months before the fraud was uncovered.
“I guess you feel betrayed by the people you’re supposed to trust,” Terry said. “Why did it take me to find it rather than the people who work here?”
The Dallas Police Department continues to investigate the case, with prosecutors working to hold Dancer accountable for her actions.