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Sarah Works, a 28-year-old Port St. Lucie woman, was arrested following a SWAT raid after an investigation revealed she had fraudulently gained the trust of an elderly victim by posing as a caregiver, then exploited that position to access the victim's bank accounts, credit cards, and personal identification. The fraud was discovered when a family member living out of state noticed suspicious bank activity and alerted authorities; Works also fraudulently obtained power of attorney documents that the victim unknowingly signed. Works is being held without bond on charges including scheme to defraud, fraudulent use of credit cards, and criminal use of personal identification, and this represents her third arrest in two

Phillip Priolo, a 61-year-old from Florida, was convicted of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and four counts of mail fraud for operating a mass mailing scheme from March 2015 to December 2016 that defrauded thousands of elderly victims. The scheme involved sending millions of personalized-appearing notices falsely claiming recipients had won a cash prize and requesting an upfront fee to collect it; victims who paid never received the promised prize. Priolo faces up to 20 years in prison per count, with sentencing to be scheduled later in 2022.

While scams affect all ages, elderly individuals are particularly vulnerable due to isolation, memory issues, and embarrassment that often prevents reporting and recovery efforts. Florida attorneys report multiple active cases among their clients, with victims—especially recently widowed or cognitively declining seniors—often spending significant time and emotional energy shutting down fraudulent accounts and hiding their exploitation from family. The article highlights common scams targeting seniors including grandparent schemes, arrest warrant threats, romance scams, and toll violations, while noting that proposed Florida legislation aims to make it easier to prosecute scammers through the communication channels they use.

Romance scams are surging and costing victims billions of dollars, prompting congressional attention and bipartisan legislative efforts. Lawmakers are advancing a bill that would require dating apps to issue warnings about flagged accounts, while experts warn that artificial intelligence is making these scams increasingly difficult for users to detect.

This article does not involve elder fraud, scams, or elder abuse and is therefore outside the scope of the Elderus database. The incident describes animal cruelty at an airport where a woman drowned her pet dog after being denied boarding due to missing travel documentation, then boarded her flight to Colombia. While serious, this case is unrelated to elder fraud research.

Florida courts ordered moving brokerage companies operated by Charles Abrams, Rudolph Rice, and Daniel Metz to pay $4.139 million in settlements and imposed lifetime bans from operating in the state after they defrauded Florida residents by providing low initial quotes, demanding excessive additional payments, and failing to honor promised refunds. The companies operated under multiple aliases including Gold Standard Moving Storage, Executive Van Lines, Imperial Moving Group, and others, deliberately changing names to evade negative reviews and complaints. The settlement includes $1.12 million designated for consumer relief to be distributed to affected customers.

Florida ranked as the number one state for fraud according to a Federal Trade Commission report, with $866 million in reported losses last year, and South Florida leading the nation with over 171,000 fraud reports. Romance scams were the most costly scheme, causing $89 million in losses to Floridians, followed by job and real estate scams. A Miramar woman was sentenced to 30 months in prison in January for laundering nearly $3 million from romance scams.

Suspended Orlando City Commissioner Regina Hill faced a court hearing on charges including elderly exploitation, where she contested claims that the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) manipulated the alleged victim's testimony. Hill was indicted one year prior and is scheduled to stand trial in May 2025 on fraud and elder abuse charges.

Four individuals were indicted on federal charges of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering as part of a sweepstakes scam that defrauded elderly and vulnerable victims of over $4.5 million across Pennsylvania and the United States. The defendants and their co-conspirators contacted victims claiming they had won multi-million-dollar prizes and used forged documents to convince them to send money in taxes and fees, which was then laundered through bank accounts and money mules to conspirators in Jamaica. All four defendants were arrested between March 14-27, 2025, and face sentences of up to 20 years in prison.

This educational piece by an elder law attorney identifies three major scam types targeting seniors: confidence scams (where perpetrators build trust to gain financial access), tech support scams (unsolicited offers to fix computer problems in exchange for payment or personal information), and government impersonation scams (fraudsters posing as IRS, law enforcement, or Social Security officials). The article emphasizes that seniors, particularly isolated "elder orphans" without family support, are especially vulnerable and provides protective advice including verifying agency contacts independently and reporting suspected fraud to the National Elder Fraud Hotline or FTC.

According to a 2024 Statista study, 90% of US adults aged 65 and older use the internet, making them frequent targets for online scams, particularly in states with older populations like Florida and Texas. The National Council on Aging recommends six protective strategies including listening without judgment, encouraging delayed responses to urgent-sounding messages, and involving anti-fraud organizations and peer networks to help vulnerable seniors recognize and avoid romance scams, crypto schemes, and other fraud.

A 36-year-old Florida woman pleaded guilty to wire fraud for embezzling approximately $535,751 in customer cash down payments and deposits from a New Orleans car dealership where she worked as a senior accountant between November 2018 and May 2023. She concealed the theft by creating fake journal entries in the dealership's records and agreed to pay full restitution as part of her plea agreement. She faces up to 20 years in prison at sentencing scheduled for June 25, 2025.

This article does not contain information relevant to elder fraud, scams, or elder abuse. It is a sports article about Thanksgiving week basketball tournaments in Southwest Florida. It is not appropriate for the Elderus database.

I cannot provide a summary as the article content has expired and is no longer available. The page only shows a notice indicating the news article has been removed from the Florida Realtors website. To obtain information about this topic, you may contact the Florida Realtors News section directly or email [email protected].

Priscilla Presley, 79, won a court ruling when a Santa Monica judge denied a motion by business associates Kevin Fialko and Brigitte Kruse to delay her fraud and elder abuse lawsuit. Presley alleges that Fialko and Kruse fraudulently separated her from trusted advisers and bilked her out of more than $1 million through entities formed under Florida law. The judge emphasized that the elder abuse claims, unique to the California case, were central to Presley's allegations and rejected the defendants' attempts to move the litigation to Florida.

Priscilla Presley won a procedural ruling in her California elder abuse lawsuit against ex-associates Brigitte Kruse, Kruse's husband, and investor Kevin Fialko, with a Los Angeles judge determining the case should proceed in California rather than Florida. Presley claims the defendants defrauded her out of more than $1 million through a scheme that involved gaining her trust, isolating her from family, and manipulating her into signing contracts that gave them controlling interest in her publicity rights. The judge emphasized that the elder abuse allegations—the "beating heart" of the case—center on California, where Presley resides and where the alleged abuse occurred.

Priscilla Presley won a preliminary ruling in her elder abuse lawsuit against former business associates Brigitte Kruse, Kevin Fialko, Vahe Sislyan, and Lynn Walker Wright, with a Los Angeles County judge determining California is the proper venue to hear the case. Presley alleges the defendants fraudulently convinced her to grant them control over her affairs and subsequently stole over $1 million, including earnings from the film *Priscilla* ($500,000) and her cosmetics deal ($349,900), while forcing her to sign contracts giving them 80 percent of her income. The judge rejected the defendants' motion to move the

Carmen Valdez De Miguel, 67, was arrested in Florida after allegedly defrauding a man of at least $3,000 through a fake tarot card reading and "spiritual cleansing" scam that began with a flyer on his car. De Miguel, who used the alias Maria Rodriguez, convinced the victim to pay $200 initially for a tarot reading, then persuaded him to bring $3,000 in cash for a ritual where she claimed the money would double, but kept the funds by claiming they were part of an ongoing ritual. De Miguel faces charges of organized scheme to defraud, grand theft, and resisting arrest, and investigators discovered she had three additional theft warrants.

A scammer impersonating JPMorgan Chase and PayPal defrauded two Florida victims of $30,000 total through a multi-stage scheme involving fake security alerts about unauthorized Bitcoin purchases, threats of arrest for money laundering, and impersonation of a Chase fraud officer and FBI agent. The victims were instructed to withdraw cash ($18,000 from the first victim and $12,000 from the second) and hand it to a courier who visited their homes; suspect Wilkens Eugene was arrested when the second victim became suspicious after being contacted again for an additional $60,000.

A phishing campaign impersonating toll agencies like E-ZPass, FasTrak, and Florida Turnpike has surged recently, sending thousands of iMessage and SMS texts with urgent language claiming unpaid tolls to trick recipients into clicking malicious links that steal personal and credit card information. The scam uses automated attacks bypassing anti-spam filters, with some users receiving up to 7 messages daily; victims are advised to avoid responding, block the numbers, and check toll balances directly on official websites rather than through text links.

A Manatee County, Florida woman lost $2,400 in a spoofed bank and FTC impersonation scam after receiving a fraudulent email claiming an unauthorized Apple charge on her Chase account. The scammer posed as both a bank representative and FTC official, convincing her to purchase gift cards at multiple retailers (Lowe's, Walmart, and Winn Dixie) under the false premise that authorities were tracking a hacker. The FTC reports that fraud losses increased 25% in 2024, with seniors losing over $2.3 billion, and emphasizes that legitimate government agencies never demand gift card payments or threaten to freeze accounts.

Christine Echohawk, 53, of Pawnee, Oklahoma, was arrested and charged with laundering approximately $1.5 million obtained through online romance scams targeting four elderly women (ages 64-79) across Utah, Texas, and Florida. One victim sent over $600,000 between April 2023 and March 2025 to a man using the alias "Edward Lotts," who claimed he needed to pay off a debt to access $2 million, and she sold her house to fund the payments. Echohawk facilitated the fraud by opening multiple bank accounts to receive the funds, converting them to cryptocurrency, and transferring them to wallets controlled by

Christine Joan Echohawk, 54, of Pawnee, Oklahoma, was arrested and charged with laundering approximately $1.5 million from online romance scams targeting elderly women aged 64-79 in Florida, Texas, and Utah between September and December 2023. The victims, believing they were in relationships with men, sent money through various methods including Apple gift cards, cash, and wire transfers, which Echohawk deposited into her bank accounts, converted to cryptocurrency, and transferred to an unidentified male subject. Echohawk faces five felony counts carrying potential sentences of 24 to 62 years in prison and fines up to $260,000, with notable individual

Christine Joan Echohawk, 54, of Pawnee was charged with laundering approximately $1.5 million from elderly women (ages 64-79) in Oklahoma, Florida, Texas, and Utah who believed they were sending money to romantic interests between September and December. Echohawk received funds through various methods, converted most to cryptocurrency, and transferred the funds to an unidentified male subject while using some proceeds personally and lying to banks about the money's source. She faces multiple felony charges including unlawful use of criminal proceeds and violations of the Oklahoma Computer Crimes Act, with charges filed by the Oklahoma Attorney General's Office.

Scammers are impersonating legitimate bail bond companies on the Gulf Coast, calling residents late at night claiming a loved one is in jail and demanding hundreds of dollars for bail payment. Over 1,400 victims have been reported with more than $500,000 lost, with fraudsters targeting customers of companies like Rapid Bail Bonds and All Out Bail Bonds by requesting payments over the phone or through apps like Zelle and Cash App that offer no fraud protection. Residents are advised to verify bail bondsmen licenses through the Florida Department of Financial Services, remember that legitimate companies conduct business in-person only, and be aware that bail bondsmen cannot legally solicit between 9 p.

This opinion piece argues that Florida exemplifies America's vulnerability to fraud and scamming, and expresses concern that cryptocurrency and current political leadership are enabling widespread fraud at scale. The author contends that scamming has become endemic to American society, from corporate fraud to crypto schemes, and that the president's creation of a memecoin represents a normalization of fraud at the highest governmental levels.

Weikai Zhang, 43, was arrested in New York and charged with running a computer pop-up scam that defrauded a Palm City senior citizen of $50,000, with additional victims losing $613,000 total while he was in Florida. Zhang, part of a larger criminal organization targeting elderly people, posed as tech support through fake Microsoft pop-ups, convincing victims their accounts were compromised and persuading them to withdraw cash and attempt Bitcoin conversions. He is being held on $700,000 bond and faces charges including organized fraud, exploitation of persons 65 and older, and conspiracy to commit grand theft.

Florida residents lost $866 million to scams and fraud in 2024, with the state ranking first nationally for fraud victimization at 2,163 cases per 100,000 residents according to FTC data. The article highlights that fraudsters are systematically targeting Florida citizens, causing significant financial harm across the state.

JPMorgan Chase is pursuing additional lawsuits against customers who exploited an "infinite money glitch" discovered in August 2024, which allowed users to deposit fraudulent checks via ATM and withdraw funds before the checks bounced. The bank has filed suits in Georgia, Florida, New York, and Texas against individuals accused of stealing amounts up to $75,000 each, and has sent demand letters to over 1,000 customers since October 2024, with a representative stating the bank will pursue cases "for as long as it takes to hold fraudsters accountable."

Seniors lost nearly $4.8 billion to scams in 2024, representing a significant portion of the $16.6 billion in total fraud losses reported by the FBI—a 33% increase from 2023. The most common scams targeting older Americans included business email compromise ($2 billion), technology support scams ($1 billion), and investment fraud ($6 billion), with victims aged 60 and above making up the majority of complaints. Texas, California, and Florida reported the highest losses, though the FBI notes actual figures may be higher due to underreporting by victims.

Seniors lost $4.8 billion to scammers in 2024, contributing to a total of $16.6 billion in losses across all age groups in the United States—a 33% increase from 2023, according to the FBI's annual internet crime report. Investment scams were the most prevalent fraud type, with 47,919 complaints and $6 billion in losses, followed by business email compromise scams ($2 billion) and technology support scams ($1 billion). The FBI received an average of 836,000 cyber fraud reports annually, with California, Texas, and Florida experiencing the highest losses.

Seniors aged 60 and older lost nearly $4.8 billion to scams in 2024, according to an FBI report, with major fraud types including business email compromise scams ($2 billion), technology support scams ($1 billion), and investment fraud ($6 billion across all ages). Americans overall lost $16.6 billion from scams in 2024—a 33 percent increase from 2023—with Texas, California, and Florida experiencing the highest losses, though the FBI notes actual figures may be higher due to underreporting by victims.

Seniors lost nearly $4.8 billion to scams in 2024, according to an FBI report, with major fraud types including business email compromise scams ($2 billion), technology support scams ($1 billion), and investment fraud ($6 billion across all ages). Americans aged 60 and above comprised the majority of victims, though those aged 50-59 also suffered significant losses of $2.5 billion, and the FBI notes actual losses may be higher due to underreporting.

The FBI in Miami warned of an increase in phone scams targeting South Florida residents in which callers impersonate federal officers and demand victims wire or mail money for fake "settlements" or law enforcement investigations. In 2024, Florida residents reported 1,579 impersonation scams resulting in over $12 million in losses; the FBI advises recipients to hang up immediately and report such calls to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center.

Florida residents lost over $1 billion to internet scams in 2024, a significant increase from $874.74 million in 2023, making the state the third-highest in losses nationally behind California and Texas, according to the FBI's latest Internet Crime Report released in April 2025. The report highlights the growing prevalence of online fraud schemes targeting residents, emphasizing the need for caution when clicking links and engaging online.

In 2023, elder fraud caused more than $3.4 billion in losses nationwide, with the average victim losing nearly $34,000 to scams including tech support schemes, phishing, and fake shopping websites. The Senior Resource Alliance is donating 5,000 downloads of the CyberFence cybersecurity app to Central Florida seniors in 2025 to help protect vulnerable older adults from digital threats while using online services like telehealth and virtual communication.

A 92-year-old from Sun City Center, Florida was defrauded of over $800,000 through a combined bank and romance scam that began in June 2022, with the victim's funds transferred through cryptocurrency platforms, peer-to-peer transactions, and ATM withdrawals. Otiz Swinton, 37, was arrested in March 2025 after being spotted using the victim's Wells Fargo card at a store; he also orchestrated five counterfeit checks totaling $14,300 and unauthorized credit card charges exceeding $5,000, with evidence showing accomplices continued the fraud while Swinton was incarcerated. S

Five individuals were sentenced in federal court for conspiring to defraud retirement accounts of elderly and retired Florida school district employees between January and March 2022. Ringleader Ronald Vargas, a retirement specialist, exploited his position to access personal information of retirees and deceased individuals, which he provided to accomplices who created fraudulent withdrawal requests; the scheme targeted 25 different 401(k) accounts and resulted in a net loss of $1.1 million. The defendants received sentences ranging from 6 months to 87 months in federal prison, with Floyd Bostic receiving the longest sentence for his role as money launderer.

Five defendants were sentenced in federal court for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and identity theft targeting elderly retired Florida school district employees' 401(k) retirement accounts between January and March 2022. The conspirators, including a retirement specialist with inside access to personal information, fraudulently withdrew approximately $1.1 million from 25 different accounts, some belonging to deceased individuals, with sentences ranging from 6 months to 87 months in federal prison. The scheme involved creating fake withdrawal forms, processing them through the company's system, and laundering the stolen funds through various bank accounts.

Five fraudsters were sentenced to federal prison for conspiring to steal over $1.1 million from retired Florida school employees' 401(k) retirement accounts, with sentences ranging from 6 months to 87 months. The scheme was orchestrated by Ronald Vargas, a retirement specialist who stole funds and transferred them to accomplices including Lambert Aguebor, Floyd Bostic, Grace Aguebor, and Sarina Levy, who then laundered the money through personal accounts, businesses, and real estate purchases. The court ordered all five defendants to pay $1 million in restitution to victims and serve supervised release periods following their imprisonment.

Five individuals were sentenced to federal prison for defrauding retired Florida school district employees through identity theft and unauthorized withdrawal of retirement funds. The conspiracy, which involved a retirement specialist who worked at a company administering 401(k) accounts, resulted in the theft of $1.1 million from 25 different retirement accounts; sentences ranged from six months to 87 months, and all defendants were ordered to pay restitution.

Elisabeth Iler, a 75-year-old American retired professor living in Mumbai, alleges she was defrauded of ₹2.5 crore (approximately $300,000 USD) by a former relationship manager at a private bank and his associate between 2020 and 2022. The accused used forged signatures and OTPs to redirect her life savings—transferred from the sale of her Florida property—into personal accounts under the guise of legitimate Indian investments in properties that never materialized. Despite filing multiple complaints with police, no FIR has been registered, raising concerns about fiduciary abuse and institutional failure within India's banking sector.

An 83-year-old Tampa woman lost $4,500 to a phishing scam after clicking a link in a text message impersonating Florida's SunPass toll system, which led to 25 fraudulent charges at stores in Connecticut and Massachusetts. The scam exemplifies a national surge in toll-related phishing fraud, where scammers send mass texts threatening license suspension or credit damage to pressure victims into entering payment information on fake portals. To protect yourself, avoid clicking unsolicited text links, verify messages directly with agencies through official websites, be skeptical of urgent threats, enable bank alerts, and report suspicious messages to 7726 (SPAM).

Helping Seniors of Brevard partnered with AARP Florida to present a free educational event called "Scam Jam" on May 16 in Melbourne designed to help seniors recognize and protect themselves from common fraud schemes. The event features workshops on prevalent scams including Nigerian lottery schemes, romance scams, government impersonation, tech support fraud, grandparent scams, and identity theft, with experts emphasizing warning signs such as pressure tactics, requests for gift cards or wire transfers, and poor grammar. The organization stresses that seniors should slow down, verify requests with others, and report suspicious activity to local law enforcement to help prevent victimization.

An 83-year-old Tampa woman lost $4,500 after clicking a link in a text message impersonating Florida's SunPass toll system, which led her to enter her debit card information on a fake payment portal; scammers then made 25 fraudulent purchases at Staples stores over three days. This case exemplifies a national surge in toll-related phishing scams, with the FTC reporting Americans lost $470 million to text-message scams in 2024—five times the 2020 total—and older adults facing particularly high vulnerability. To protect themselves, consumers should avoid clicking unsolicited links, verify messages directly with official agencies, be w

This educational piece highlights key safety concerns for Florida's large senior population during Older Americans Month. While younger people report more scam incidents overall, seniors lose significantly more money per scam—those over 80 lose a median of $1,650 compared to $189 for those under 19—and should be wary of unsolicited contacts demanding urgency, crypto payments, or gift cards. The article also provides guidance on safer driving practices, fall prevention through fitness programs, personal safety awareness, and available local resources to support seniors' health and security.

Christine Joan Echohawk, 54, of Pawnee, Oklahoma was charged with five felonies for laundering approximately $1.5 million obtained through online romance scams targeting four elderly women (ages 64-79) in Florida, Utah, and Texas between September and December 2024. The victims, who believed they were in romantic relationships with a man using the alias "Maurice Dinero," sent funds via Apple gift cards, cash, checks, and wire transfers to accounts Echohawk controlled, which she converted to cryptocurrency and forwarded to an unknown suspect. If convicted, Echohawk faces 24 to 62 years in prison and up to $260,

A Florida man was scammed out of $55,000 after a caller posing as a Wells Fargo employee claimed his account was under investigation and instructed him to withdraw cash and surrender it in person; the suspect, Terol Castel Lyn, also impersonated an FBI agent to pressure additional payments before being arrested in a sting operation. This case reflects a broader surge in elder fraud, with Americans over 60 reporting $4.8 billion in losses to internet crimes in 2024—a 40% increase from 2023—with impersonation scams being the most common tactic. Key protective measures include refusing cash withdrawal requests, independently ver

In 2024, elder fraud losses in the United States reached $3.4 billion, with Florida accounting for nearly $300 million and ranking second nationally. Scammers target seniors over 60 through various methods including phishing, tech support, and romance scams, employing sophisticated, professional tactics. The FBI launched an awareness campaign called "Take a Beat" encouraging victims to pause and consult trusted contacts, while emphasizing the importance of reporting all fraud attempts, including unsuccessful ones, to the Internet Crime Complaint Center.

The Bradenton Police Financial Crimes and Elder Fraud unit acquired credit card skimming detection devices through a Florida Department of Law Enforcement grant to combat criminals who install skimmers on ATMs, gas pumps, and point-of-sale terminals to steal financial information. The department recommends using encrypted digital payment methods like Apple Pay or Google Pay and monitoring bank statements regularly to detect and report fraudulent activity quickly.