S. Florida Woman Arrested For Scamming Recently-Widowed, Dementia-Stricken Man; Conned Senior Into Signing Over Deeds To Two Homes & Looted Bank Account While Purporting To Be His POA-Holding Caretaker

In Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports:

• As far as the 86-year-old man knew, Maria Pikuta Wilkinson was his wife and not a self-appointed caretaker who defrauded him out of more than $178,000 in cash and real estate, according to Fort Lauderdale police.
  
  Wilkinson, 65, was arrested [] and charged with elderly exploitation, court records show.
  
  The Pompano Beach man was diagnosed with dementia shortly after the death of his real wife on March 31, investigators said.
  
  He was transferred to a live-in rehabilitation facility where Wilkinson met him, visited him frequently, and assumed the role of caregiver, according to the arrest report filed in the case.
  
  The man mistakenly assumed Wilkinson was his wife and, according to the report, Wilkinson checked him out of the rehab center and moved him into her Fort Lauderdale home in April.
  
  Later, she persuaded the man to add her to his Sun Trust bank account and she was able obtain power of attorney in order to control his assets, investigators said.
  
  The Sun Sentinel is not identifying the 86-year-old man because of his medical condition. His doctor of five years told investigators that an evaluation completed in late July showed he did not have the capacity to make complex financial decisions.
  
  However, before the formal mental health evaluation was done, Wilkinson had the man sign two quitclaim deeds that gave her ownership of two single-family homes in Pompano Beach valued at $78,270 and $74,520,(1) detectives said.
  
  On July 14, Wilkinson closed the joint Sun Trust account and withdrew $25,850 which was then deposited into her personal account, police said.
  
  The value of the two properties and the bank account totaled $178,640, according to the investigative report.
  
  Wilkinson is listed as the owner of a domestic services company based in Fort Lauderdale.
  
  Efforts to reach her for comment were unsuccessful.
  
  She was released from jail [...] on a $10,000 surety bond, jail officials said.

Source: Woman defrauded widower, 86, out of $178K, posed as his wife, cops say (A woman was able to convince an 86-year-old widower that she should control his assets).

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(1) These values appear to be nothing more than the values each property is assessed for on the local tax rolls. The true fair market value for each home is probably significantly greater.