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QUEENS---A Florida woman has been sentenced to four months in jail for stealing tens of thousands of dollars from four elderly Queens men by falsely claiming to need the money to pay medical bills, assistance for her ailing parents or to help start up businesses.
"Crimes involving the financial exploitation of the elderly, particularly those involving so-called 'sweetheart scams', are among the most devastating forms of elder abuse", district attorney Richard Brown said. "What is particularly noteworthy about this case is that this is the first time in Queens County that a defendant was prosecuted for a financial crime against the elderly under New York's Hate Crimes statute."
Under the provisions of New York State's Hate Crimes Act of 2000, enhanced charges can be filed when a defendant commits a larceny and selects his or her victim because of their age which is defined as being 60 years of age or older.
Shirley Miller, 43, of 3140 North 46th Avenue in Hollywood, Florida, and formerly of 18-35 Bell Boulevard in Bayside, Queens, allegedly used several aliases including Rachel Katz and Anna Katz and claimed she was a babysitter. She pleaded guilty on Oct. 14, 2005 to grand larceny in the second degree as a hate crime and attempted grand larceny in the third degree as a hate crime before Queens Supreme Court Justice Ronald D. Hollie who imposed a determinate sentence of four months in jail. She previously made restitution of $175,000 to her victims.
Brown said the investigation began in November 2003 when one of the elderly victims reported to his Economic Crimes Bureau that he had given money to a woman who had befriended him on a street in Flushing and who had asked him to give her additional money. Between 1998 and 2004, the defendant used a phony name and deceived each of the four elderly victims with fictitious claims about her family situation, her occupation, her medical problems and her interest in starting businesses and then persuaded two of them to give her large sums of money.
Miller left Queens and relocated to Hollywood, Fla., last year during the investigation when she became aware that she was being sought. She
was arrested in Florida on Sept. 30, 2004 and extradited back to Queens to face prosecution. 1-13-06
© 2005 North
Country Gazette
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