WASHINGTON HEIGHTS — An uptown woman preyed on three elderly men by courting them in local eateries, then convincing them to foot the bill for her lavish shopping sprees, prosecutors said.
Mary Evans, 44, stole more than $130,000 in cash and goods — including a Mercedes convertible — from a retired MTA worker over a five-year stretch beginning in January 2009, law enforcement officials said.
She also took an 81-year-old retired church musical director for $53,000 and attempted to withdraw $225,000 from the retirement account of a 73-year-old ex-college professor who suffered from dementia, according to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.
In all, she stole more than $400,000 from the three men, prosecutors charge.
“Companionship came at a high price for the elderly victims in this case,” DA Cyrus Vance said.
“The defendant is accused of systematically preying on men three decades older than her and stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars in savings from them, which she allegedly used to go on shopping sprees at Victoria’s Secret and Macy’s.”
Evans conned the men by running into them in area cafes, supermarkets and restaurants and pretending they knew each other, the DA's office said.
She’d get their names and phone numbers, then after gaining their trust, would claim she was suffering from tragedies like abusive ex-husbands and early deaths of children, according to prosecutors.
She also said she needed loans to help her pursue a nursing career, prosecutors said.
She often promised to repay them, but when they confronted her about getting their money back she would cut off communication, prosecutors said.
Evans is charged with grand larceny, fraud and endangering the welfare of an incompetent or physically disabled person.
Her lawyer could not immediately be reached for comment.
