A woman from Florida was arrested for allegedly stealing over $437,000 from a 70-year-old cancer patient.
According to the officials, the suspect impersonated the cancer patient’s daughter and forced her to sign over her possessions.
After the investigation, officials discovered that the suspect identified as Ana Nunez, allegedly manipulated the victim into signing legal documents granting her power of attorney.
The victim then reportedly signed over her bank accounts, home and the rest of her properties and possessions to Nunez while she was receiving medical care at a hospital in Miami-Dade County.
Woman arrested for stealing $437K from elderly cancer patient https://t.co/SDgEYS45Rv
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In the report released by the WPLG, it was revealed that Nunez was previously convicted in 2014 for grand theft and forgery.
Nunez is now facing charges of organized fraud, exploitation of the elderly, and theft from the elderly totaling more than $50,000. Her own son Pablo Figueroa, was also arrested early in May in connection with the scheme.
On Saturday, the suspect appeared in court and a judge set her bond at $45,000.
Following the incident, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, a law enforcement agency in the United States, released a report and revealed how the elderly population has become a “common target of fraudsters” across the country.
According to the FBI, over $1 billion was scammed out of senior citizens in 2021. Furthermore, in the agency’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, it was also revealed that more than 92,000 victims over the age of 60 reported losing more than $1.7 billion.
lEach year, millions of elderly Americans fall victim to some type of financial fraud or internet scheme, such as romance scams, tech support fraud, and lottery or sweepstake scams,” the FBI stated in its report.
“Criminals gain their targets’ trust or use tactics of intimidation and threats to take advantage of their victims. Once successful, scammers are likely to keep a scheme going because of the prospect of significant financial gain.” The agency added.
Moreover, the Consumer Affairs also revealed that “not only are they targeted more frequently, the elderly are also more likely to be scammed out of larger sums of money compared to younger age groups.”
