Prosecutors: Woman moved to retirement home to con elderly

Prosecutors: Woman moved to retirement home to con elderly

LEVI PULKKINE, Seattle Post-Intelligencer Copyright 2012 Seattle Post-Intelligencer. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

By LEVI PULKKINEN, SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF

Published 07:44 p.m., Wednesday, February 1, 2012

A transient woman suspected of bilking elderly residents at Seattle-area retirement homes after gaining their trust has been charged with several counts of felony theft.

King County prosecutors claim Fonda D. Michaux conned several residents of a Burien retirement home, where the 52-year-old was living with her father. Beyond those thefts, though, investigators suspect she may have used the same scheme against other elderly people elsewhere in the area.

“While living in retirement communities, the defendant befriended and defrauded a number of elderly and vulnerable victims,” Deputy Prosecutor Celia Lee told the court.

“The state has received additional information concerning identical criminal conduct that has occurred at other retirement homes,” Lee continued. She described the investigation as ongoing, but suggested additional charges may be forthcoming.

On Oct. 25, a 63-year-old resident of the Boulevard Park Apartments called police to report that Michaux had scammed her out of more than $1,000.

Speaking with investigators, the woman said she’d met Michaux at the apartment complex.

Michaux told the woman she was staying there with her ill father, King County Detective Debby Schmitz told the court, and that she worked for Southwest Airlines. She allegedly offered to get the woman cruise tickets at a discounted price.

Believing Michaux would do as she said, the woman cut her a check for $1,010 for a Holland America cruise, Schmitz told the court. The check was cashed, but the cruise was never reserved.

A 93-year-old resident of the apartment complex told a similar story, according to charging documents. Michaux promised to buy her seven airline tickets for $2,400, the detective told the court. Again, the check was cashed but no tickets were purchased.

According to charging documents, Michaux repeated the scam against a 91-year-old woman and her 87-year-old husband, as well as another couple. Investigators later confirmed Michaux was not a Southwest employee.

“These charges involve a pattern of fraud and deceit carried out in retirement communities where the defendant apparently targeted vulnerable victims,” Lee told the court. “The defendant and her father lived on a temporary basis in retirement communities under the apparent guise of finding suitable housing for her ‘father.’”

Arrested Jan. 23, Michaux was found hiding in a closet. She has been charged with three counts of second-degree theft and one count of third-degree theft, and remains jailed on $50,000 bail.

Check the Seattle 911 crime blog for more Seattle crime news. Visit seattlepi.com's home page for more Seattle news.

Levi Pulkkinen can be reached at 206-448-8348 or levipulkkinen@seattlepi.com. Follow Levi on Twitter at twitter.com/levipulk.

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http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Prosecutors-Woman-moved-to-retirement-home-to-2927945.php

Editor's note: This crime is nothing new.  The Probate Court of Cook County vultures have been using internal spies in nursing homes, retirement complexes and hospitals for years. It just took a while for it to spread West.  Lucius Verenus, Schoolmaster, ProbateSharks.com

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