Police were called to investigate a case of elder abuse by a woman who befriended an 81-year-old man with dementia and depression. The man, who had once been a missile systems analyzer for the Air Force, now sat broken in his home with a woman accused of stealing his money. This 56-year-old woman befriended him, banked with him, and married him all within seven days of meeting him. At the time of investigation, she had already embezzled more than $65,000 from the man. Following her arrest, a judge sentenced her to two years in prison for the exploitation of a vulnerable adult and ordered her to repay the victim the total stolen amount. This story represents the increasingly targeted practice of thieves against elders who are trusting and living alone.
See Dan Morse, Elderly, Lonely and Suffering from Dementia – To Thieves, the Perfect Mark, Washington Post, July 25, 2016.
Special thanks to Lewis Saret (Attorney, Washington, D.C.) for bringing this article to my attention.
