A 36-year-old woman had been charged with 23 counts of first-degree forgery after allegedly writing checks from a comatose man’s checkbook.

Police said Michelle Truett of Leonard Road was a former em-ployee of Twin Fountains at 1400 Hogansville Road, where the man lives.

Truett also was charged with four counts of first-degree forgery in September for allegedly cashing the checks of another man at Twin Fountains, a nursing home affiliated with West Georgia Health System. The checks for both cases totaled an estimated $20,000.

Truett was in possession of both men’s checkbooks, LaGrange police detective Chris Pritchett said.

“It was just forgery - real simple forgery,” he said.

Police said Truett had used the comatose man’s account with Prosperity Bank in Panama City, Fla., for varying amounts. The victim permitted her to use his account only to pay his bills for Striffler-Hamby Mortuary and to provide him money for personal use, officials said.

Such arrangements involving patients’ finances are common at health-care facilities, said health system spokeswoman Patricia Rogers.

“In some situations when (a patient’s) family members are not actively present in the community … arrangements can be made for a staff person (to handle the accounts) if they gave permission,” she said. “And that’s a generally accepted practice at care facilities.

“It’s more common than uncommon. You’d find that at any nursing home. … It all goes back to giving that person permission.”

Twin Fountains officials started an investigation when two deposit slips were found inside Truett’s desk after she was fired on Sept. 14.

“Since that time, we have cooperated fully with the police department and all information regarding this incident has been given to authorities as part of the investigation,” Rogers said.

Officials said Truett’s firing was unrelated to the accusations against her.

Two other deposits were also found through the man’s checking account. Some checks had been signed by him and others weren’t.

During the investigation, Twin Fountains’ officials noticed the comatose man’s checks were missing as well.

Police said Truett had accesss to the checks.

“That was her job. She ran the business office. She had access to them all,” ” Pritchett said.

Truett, who also was charged with violation of the Elder Person Protection Act, is out on bond.

There has been no disposition in the case of the checks involving the first man at Twin Fountains.

Rogers, speaking on behalf of Twin Fountains administrator Mary Jane Cleveland, said there would be “no further comment other than what West Georgia Health System employees gave to the police department in their first questioning.

Trey Wood can be reached at twood@ lagrangenews. com or (706) 884-7311, Ext. 228.