PALMETTO, Fla. — When Sue Barber of Palmetto used Care.com to hire Millennial Home Care LLC to care for her dying husband, she felt Bruce was in good hands.
"We were very, very happy with the care that she provided for my husband,” she said.
That changed when Bruce died in late 2022.
"After Bruce passed away, I was supposed to get a deposit back. But to this day, I have not gotten a deposit back,” she said.
The deposit was $2,940.
Business records list Sherisa Stackhouse as the owner of Millennial Home Care, LLC in Sarasota. Her contract with Sue shows where she provided services for Bruce — like cleaning, bathing and bedside care.
"I hired this company when my husband was ill, terminally ill, and I needed some help with homecare in addition to home hospice,” Barber said.
Barber says she hired Stackhouse through Care.com, an online platform described as "a network of background-checked caregivers." However, background checks are where 10 Investigates immediately found problems.
Records show Stackhouse, whose maiden name is Powell, has a criminal history. Court records show in 2014, she faced two years of probation for grand theft and forgery for cashing someone else's check.
A few years later, she faced the same sentence for stealing jewelry worth thousands of dollars from an 85-year-old woman in Lithia, then selling it at Manatee Pawn in Bradenton. 10 Investigates got a copy of the sheriff's report, which shows the family also hired Stackhouse through Care.com.
"I feel like I was lied to, I never would have hired someone with a record,” Barber said.
A Care.com spokesperson said in an email: “We are troubled by this incident and sincerely regret that this family experienced this, particularly while mourning the loss of a loved one. Our records do indicate that this individual has attempted to have profiles on our platform over the years, using various aliases. Our safety protocols, which include a CareCheck background check being completed before communicating with families, enabled us to block these efforts. This individual then attempted to circumvent our protocols by enrolling as a care business with an entirely unrelated name…”
Care.com closed that listing after 10 Investigates began asking questions. In another statement, the company said:
This was a fraudulent, bad actor who was able to circumvent our safety protocols and engage in predatory behavior off our platform to prey on Ms. Barber directly. As soon as this troubling incident was brought to our attention in April 2024, we took immediate action to remove the listing and stood ready to support Ms. Barber in contacting law enforcement. Our top concern was how we could best support Mrs. Barber – we paid her the full deposit owed to her by this fraudulent provider in the hopes we could alleviate some stress during a difficult time.
After multiple attempts to reach Stackhouse, she called to say that she sent Barber’s deposit long ago. However, there were no records produced to 10 Investigates from Sue or Stackhouse that the check had been cashed. Emails between the two show her asking for the money month after month, with Stackhouse saying she does “not control the mail” or know when she will get it.
“Some kind of a mechanism needs to be put in place so that this won't happen to anybody else, especially a senior citizen,” Barber said.
That would mean the law needs to change. The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office says Sue’s missing money isn’t considered theft and is a civil matter for the courts. Records show Barber tried that route Stackhouse never showed up for mediation.
"I was embarrassed at first when this happened,” she said of her missing deposit. “Hardly told anybody."
Then, she reached out to 10 Investigates, and after contacting Care.com, the company returned her $2,940 deposit. A spokesperson said it would also cooperate with law enforcement on any investigations.
"You immediately responded to my request for assistance,” Barber said. “I just don't want this to happen to anybody else.”
This isn’t the first time Care.com has faced scrutiny over its vetting and background check process. In 2020, the company paid $1 million to settle a lawsuit after California prosecutors said Care.com misrepresented some of its background check services.
Experts say if you’re looking online to hire help for a sick or aging loved one, it’s important to always do your own background checks. Experts also say in Florida, it’s better to hire from a licensed home health agency because those workers are required to be background checked at higher levels than those you’ll often find listed on online care marketplaces.
Emerald Morrow is an investigative reporter with 10 Tampa Bay. Like her on Facebook and follow her on X. You can also email her at emorrow@10tampabay.com.