A Florida-based nursing assistant was charged with grand theft and elderly financial exploitation for allegedly scamming a nonagenarian couple out of more than $100,000.
Odalis Lopez, 56, is accused of stealing Rella and Leonard Herman’s money over the course of seven years. The couple’s grandson, Micah Herman, told WSVN that his grandfather worked until he was 89 years old.
According to the news station, Miami-Dade prosecutors said Lopez had access to the Hermans’ credit cards as she cared for the couple and grew closer to them. However, suspicions arose when relatives reportedly noticed unusual transactions on the elders’ credit card statement.
“Parties, margaritas, buying gift cards at Publix and at Chili’s or Cheesecake Factory,” Micah Herman listed off some of the purchases Lopez allegedly made to WSVN.
“Transactions at Publix were the most significant, totaling $116,322,” Lopez’s arrest warrant stated.
Micah Herman spoke at length about Lopez’s crimes, which he called “disgusting.” He revealed to WTVJ that his grandmother not only survived the Holocaust but the loss of her only son in 2015.
He went on to accuse Lopez of taking advantage of her “despair and depression” when she stole his grandparents’ life savings.
“This was reparation money. We’re talking about what the German government gives to survivors,” he told WSVN.
“How could you do something like this?”
Lopez is free on bond following her arrest on Friday. She’s due in court on September 3.
[Featured image: Rella Herman/GoFundMe]
