FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2005
D.A. BROWN: BAYSIDE WOMAN HALTS TRIAL TO PLEAD GUILTY TO DEFRAUDING FOUR ELDERLY MEN IN “SWEETHEART” SCAM
Ordered To Pay $175,000 Restitution And Serve Four Months In Jail
Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown announced today that a former Queens resident who had been extradited from Florida interrupted her trial this morning to plead guilty to an indictment charging her under New York State’s Hate Crime Law with stealing large sums of money from four elderly men -- ranging in age from 75 to 85 -- by feeding them bogus tales about illnesses, ailing parents and start-up businesses.
District Attorney Brown said, “This case represented the first time in Queens County that a defendant was prosecuted for a financial crime against the elderly under New York’s Hate Crimes statute. Crimes involving the financial exploitation of the elderly -- particularly those involving so called ‘sweetheart scams’ -- are among the most devastating forms of elder abuse. Crimes against the elderly -- whether they involve physical or, as in this case, financial harm -- are despicable and will be vigorously prosecuted."
Under the provisions of New York State’s Hate Crimes Act of 2000, enhanced charges can be filed when a defendant commits a larceny and selects his or her victim because of their age which is defined as being 60 years of age or older.
District Attorney Brown identified the defendant as Shirley Miller, 43, of 3140 North 46th Avenue in Hollywood, Florida, and formerly of 18-35 Bell Boulevard in Bayside, Queens, who allegedly uses aliases including Rachel Katz and Anna Katz and claims she is a babysitter. The defendant pled guilty earlier today to Grand Larceny in the Second Degree as a Hate Crime, a Class B felony, and Attempted Grand Larceny in the Third Degree as a Hate Crime, a Class D felony, before Queens Supreme Court Justice Ronald D. Hollie, who set sentencing for January 12, 2006. The defendant was also ordered to make restitution of $175,000 to her victims.
The District Attorney said that under the terms of her guilty plea the defendant must pay restitution of $175,000 to her victims by December 15, 2005. If she fails to do so, she faces a minimum of one to three years and a maximum of 8 ⅓ to 25 years in state prison. If the defendant pays the full amount of restitution by December 15th, she will receive a sentence of four months in jail.
District Attorney Brown said the investigation began in November 2003 when an elderly male reported to his Economic Crimes Bureau that he had given money to a woman who had befriended him on a street in Flushing and who had asked him to give her additional money. Between 1998 and 2004, the defendant used a phony name and deceived each of the four elderly victims with fictitious claims about her family situation, her occupation, her medical problems and her interest in starting businesses and then persuaded two of them to give her large sums of money. The defendant left Queens and relocated to Hollywood, Florida last year during the investigation when she became aware that she was being sought. She was arrested in Florida on September 30, 2004 and extradited back to Queens to face prosecution.
The investigation was conducted by Detectives Evelyn Alegre and Edward Russell of the District Attorney’s Detective Squad under the supervision of Lieutenant Robert Burke and the overall supervision of Chief Lawrence J. Festa and Deputy Chief Al D. Velardi and Forensic Accountant James Dever of the District Attorney’s Economic Crimes Bureau.
Assistant District Attorney Kristen A. Kane of District Attorney Brown's Economic Crimes Bureau prosecuted the case under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Gregory C. Pavlides, Bureau Chief, and Diane M. Peress, Deputy Bureau Chief, and the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Investigations Peter A. Crusco and Deputy Executive Assistant District Attorney for Investigations Linda M. Cantoni.