Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

3 Women Charged With Scamming 88-Year-Old Out Of $10K, DA Says

By Ben Fractenberg | March 30, 2016 8:37am
 3 women were charged with scamming an elderly Queens woman out of $10,000, the Queens District Attorney's Office said.
3 women were charged with scamming an elderly Queens woman out of $10,000, the Queens District Attorney's Office said.
View Full Caption
Shutterstock

QUEENS — Three women were indicted Tuesday for scamming an elderly Jackson Heights woman out of more than $10,000 last August, according to the Queens District Attorney’s Office.

Donna Saunders, 60, first walked up to the 88-year-old woman at the intersection of 77th Street and 31st Avenue in the middle of the afternoon on Aug. 1 and engaged her in conversation.

Deanna Rhett, 59, then approached the two women, showed them her purse full of what appeared to be $100,000 and said she would be willing to share the money if they helped pay the taxes on it, the DA’s office said.

The third scammer, Juanita Lamb, 57, then allegedly drove up in a Buick, offered the victim a ride home after they all agree to meet up on Aug. 3 to pay the taxes.

“There are many variations of the ‘found money’ scam. In this particular case, the defendants are accused of approaching their victim with a purse full of ‘found’ cash and offering to share the money with her — if she helped them with paying the taxes on the money,” District Attorney Richard Brown said in a statement.

“Such scammers often target older people because they often live alone, away from friends and family, and have available financial assets, such as savings, pensions and Social Security retirement benefits.” 

The three women picked up the 88-year-old on Aug. 3 and drove her to the Queens County Savings Bank, where she withdrew $10,300.

She then gave Rhett the money and the three drove back to the elderly woman’s home so she could pick up some proof of her address.

Once the woman was inside her home the three took off with her cash, according to the DA.

But investigators from the NYPD's Organized Theft Squad, who were already looking into the women, stopped the suspects' vehicle, where they found $3,100 on the floor of the driver’s seat and $4,100 from the passenger seat floor and $3,100 from Saunder’s waistband, the DA said.

The investigators also found an assortment of wigs and “numerous” pieces of paper that appeared to be $100 bills with the phrase “for theatrical use” on them, according to the DA.

The three women were arraigned Tuesday on third-degree grand larceny and third-degree criminal possession of stolen property charges

They are due back in court on June 6 and are facing up to seven years in prison, the DA said.

Lawyers for the suspects did not immediately return calls for comment.