WHAT A HEEL: Eldercare Snare
James Brian Gendimenico, 48, pleaded guilty to a theft scheme over $500 for siphoning at least $180,000 from a childless elderly couple on a fixed income over a 2½-year period after gaining their trust by helping out with chores, errands and paying bills, reports The Washington Post:
The scheme got its start, Montgomery County [MD] prosecutors said Monday, when an 87-year-old woman pulled into a gas station 3½ years ago looking for directions home. …
Gendimenico, offered to help, and led her and her husband to their nearby house in his own car. …
As the husband's health deteriorated, Gendimenico persuaded the wife to grant him power of attorney and received more than 350 checks from the couple's bank accounts, according to prosecutors. By the time her husband died, she could no longer afford to bury him.
"He picked her clean," said Robert McCarthy, a lawyer appointed by the court to manage the widow's finances.
Gendimenico had been indicted on one count of exploitation of a vulnerable adult and one count of a theft scheme over $500, but under the terms of the plea deal, the exploitation charge was dropped. Sentencing is scheduled for August 9th. Gendimenico faces a maximum of 15 years in prison.
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