Moorhead Woman Charged with Neglect of Two Vulnerable Adults - Valley News Live - KVLY/KXJB - Fargo/Grand Forks

Clay County prosecutors say a woman who was supposed to be caring for two vulnerable adults put their lives at risk instead. The woman, who worked as a caregiver for Fargo-based Friendship Inc., is charged with gross misdemeanor neglect in a May third incident.

A neighbor says he called police after noticing a Friendship Inc. van with two disabled people in it parked in front of a Moorhead home for more than an hour.  The woman told police she'd only been in there a few minutes.

Both victims are severely disabled and cannot speak. They require round the clock care. 
"They're not vocal. They can communicate with you a little, but only very limited answers. One of them has the functioning level of a three-year-old," says Clay County prosecutor Jenny Samarzja.

Samarzja says it's frustrating the case does not meet eligibility requirements for felony-level charges, since the people weren't injured. She says investigators suspect this isn't an isolated incident with the defendant, but that this was one case they can prove.

The woman, Victoria Krynski, is no longer with Friendship Inc., according to its CEO, Jeff Pederson. He calls the case "very disturbing," and says the company forwarded the case to the North Dakota Protection and Advocacy Project, which acts as an advocacy group for disabled North Dakotans, for investigation.

He says the results of  that investigation showed the incident likely did occur. He also says the company is reviewing its practices to discover if there's anything they can change about the way they do their work to make sure such incidents aren't repeated.

"We put a lot of trust in our staff," he says. "It's most unfortunate. A bad situation."

Krynski is due in court to face charges in July.