Office of the
Illinois Attorney General
Kwame Raoul

Chicago – Attorney General Kwame Raoul today announced that a suburban Cook County woman was sentenced to two years in prison after pleading guilty to criminal neglect of an individual with a disability in a case prosecuted by the Attorney General’s office.  

Bernice Piet, 70, of Burbank, Illinois, pleaded guilty in Cook County Circuit Court today to one count of criminal neglect of a disabled person. Judge Arthur W. Willis sentenced Piet to two years in prison.

“While today’s disposition cannot undo what the victim experienced, it does hold this perpetrator accountable for her inexcusable actions,” Raoul said. “I will continue to seek justice for victims and to send the message that there is no room for the abuse and neglect of individuals with disabilities in Illinois.”

The victim is an adult with disabilities and the survivor of a traumatic brain injury, making her non-verbal and unable to learn new tasks or to ambulate without assistance. According to Raoul, Piet was the victim’s guardian and provided in-home services through the Illinois Department of Human Services Division of Rehabilitation Services and the Division of Developmental Disabilities.

On March 30, 2023, Chicago Fire Department Emergency Medical Services responded to a call at the victim’s residence and discovered her naked in a urine and feces-soaked bed with a four-inch wound on her hip that would later be diagnosed as a Stage four ulcer. Piet was indicted in November 2024.

Attorney General Raoul reminds the public that suspected abuse, neglect or exploitation of a person with disabilities age 18-59 can be reported by calling the Adult Protective Services Hotline at 866-800-1409. More information can be found on the Illinois Department on Aging’s website.

Raoul’s Medicaid Fraud Control Bureau receives 75% of its funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under a grant award totaling $12,584,776 for the federal government’s 2026 fiscal year. The remaining 25%, totaling $4,194,923 for the federal government’s 2026 fiscal year, is funded by the state of Illinois.

Assistant Attorney General Dan Duffy prosecuted the case for Raoul’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.