Florida couple’s caretaker pleads guilty in elder fraud case

A married pair in their 90s compensated for the down payment on their caretaker’s Tamarac household a new A/C unit, windows and fence for the house the ballroom for the caretaker’s daughter’s marriage reception and the caretaker’s credit rating card charges.

The few didn’t know they ended up remaining this generous with caretaker Sherri Lynn Smith. Smith was thieving $288,865 from them in a vintage circumstance of elder fraud.

Elder fraud isn’t on the federal regulation books, so Smith pleaded responsible to bank fraud and fraud with identification documents in late May well. The 52-yr-old will be sentenced Aug. 26 in Fort Pierce federal court.

Belief broken, expenses compensated

What follows will come from Smith’s admission of information that goes with her guilty plea.

A pair discovered in the responsible plea as “N.B. and J.B.” were dwelling in Broward County with their daughter and son-in-regulation, W.D., when J.B. experienced a stroke in 2016. Smith was hired as family assist “to aid them with their particular and fiscal affairs.”

That intended food purchasing, cooking, some housework, ferrying N.B. and J.B. about … and encouraging with banking. Given entry to their accounts, Smith solid N.B.’s signature on checks and built electronic funds transfers to financial institution and credit card accounts in her title and her husband’s title.

Examples of Smith’s thievery include things like:

▪ A $500 examine went to Miramar’s Jubilee Ballroom on June 14, 2017. That’s where by Smith’s daughter had her marriage reception later on in 2017.

▪ Smith forged a $1,312.78 examine to her son-in-legislation on Dec. 22, 2017.

▪ Accurately a 12 months after the ballroom payment, a $16,000 check out went to “J.C.,” Smith’s authentic estate closing lawyer, for the down payment of a Tamarac home. Broward County Property Records say on June 21, 2018, Sherri Lynn Smith, husband John Smith and a Justin Smith acquired 7703 NW 73rd Ter., a a few-bedroom, two-bathroom, 1,367- square-foot house. Jacqueline Cannavan was the closing agent.

Just 15 days afterwards, Smith forged a $6,000 examine to herself and applied it for a new air-conditioning device, windows and fence for her new property.

▪ Electronic payments of $1,792.41 to Smith’s Chase credit history card account on Feb. 25, 2019 $1,490.82 to the identical Chase credit history card account on March 25, 2019 and $1,338.49 to a diverse Chase credit history card account on April 1, 2019

▪ An digital payment of $1,185.98 went to Smith’s husband’s Chase credit history card account on Feb. 15, 2019 and a different of $1,488.35 on April 4, 2019.

▪ $46,000 in Zelle transfers from N.B. and J.B.’s Lender of The us financial savings account to Smith’s Chase Bank account.

Nevertheless Smith experimented with to address her fraud with a phony ledger exhibiting she repaid N.B. and J.B., their son-in-law found her ripoff in April 2019.

This tale was at first printed June 5, 2022 1:21 PM.