A Florida woman has been apprehended after authorities in Miami-Dade County said she allegedly stole more than $437,000 from a 70-year-old cancer patient by impersonating her daughter and forcing her to sign over her possessions.
Following an investigation, law enforcement officials arrested Ana Nunez, who allegedly pretended to be the unidentified victim’s daughter in order to manipulate her into signing legal documents granting her power of attorney, WPLG reported.
The victim, who is battling a terminal illness, ultimately signed over her home, bank accounts, and the rest of her possessions to the impostor, as she was receiving care at a hospital in Miami-Dade County, according to the report.
Nunez is facing charges of organized fraud, exploitation of the elderly, and theft from the elderly totaling more than $50,000, WPLG reported. Nunez had run-ins with law enforcement in 2014, including grand theft and forgery, according to the report.
Nunez appeared in court on Saturday, when a judge set her bond at $45,000. Nunez’s own son, Pablo Figueroa, was previously arrested in connection with the scheme.
According to an FBI report, elderly people in the United States have become a common target of fraudsters as senior citizens were scammed out of over $1 billion in 2021, according to an FBI report.
More than 92,000 victims over the age of 60 reported losing more than $1.7 billion, according to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.
