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When a Queens District Attorney's Office press release (PDF) actually names a defendant "Natasha Munchkin Marks," you know the case will be good. It seems that a petite 18 year old (now 20) Marks would flirt with men ages 85 and 79 outside stores and somehow managed to extract thousands from them. From 85 year old Louis Bruno, she managed to borrow $249,000 for fake illnesses and emergencies - and then took power of attorney and put a $560,000 mortgage on his house! Bruno is sad, telling the Daily News he gave her money to take care of her and that he was going to propose to her.
Queens DA Richard Brown made a statement about America's aging population while discussing the crime:
“In typical sweetheart swindler fashion, the defendant is accused of befriending elderly men and preying on their loneliness and vulnerability to scam them out of their life savings. Crimes involving the financial exploitation of the elderly – particularly those involving so-called sweetheart scams – are among the most devastating forms of elder abuse. Unfortunately, as America steadily grays, we are seeing such crimes occurring with more and more frequency.”And did you know that "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"? This is totally Law & Order: Elder Fraud Unit!
Daily News also noted that authorities believe Marks "worked with other accomplices and have ties to a nationwide web of grifters and scam artists." Like Ocean's Eleven? Anyway, Marks is being held on $500,000 bail.
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i bet she charms an elderly guard and soaks him for bail money.
sad
Those poor, poor bastids.
Less like Oceans 11 and more like Grifters.
I hate to say it, but these guys really need to get some common sense. A girl 60 years your junior isn't going to suddenly find you attractive. They're golddiggers 99.9999999% of the time. Besides, what kind of relationship can you have with them even if they were really interested? I can't understand college-age girls today and I'm nowhere near 60 years older.
It is very sad that these old men were taken advantage of.
But how could a 80 year old man ever think that a 18 year old woman would be romantically interested in him?? I mean, really!! (Okay, maybe Paul Newman is the exception--but still...)
This is totally Law & Order: Elder Fraud Unit!
Jen Chung is totally making fun of someone's misfortune! How totally pathetic! Fer sure.
Older people often become more childlike and naive as they age. My grandfather was scammed by a woman; but he was not delusional to the point where he thought that they would have an actual relationship. She preyed upon his good nature in the sense that he thought he was giving $ to support children in need of adoption. (Both he and my grandmother were orphaned.) If a grifter is able to convince them of the possibilty of a romantic relationship, they'll do it. If not then they'll push it to whatever level they can: tugging at their heartstrings, offering them attention, prentending to offer them friendship, etc. Anyone who tries to con an innocent elderly person should die a horrible, torturous death.
WHY IS SHE CALLED MUNCHKIN?!
Unfortunately, you CANNOT legislate stupidity.
Interesting that the media must remain so PC in intentionally not disclosing the common thread of all these cases. All involve women who may be variously described by the ethnic/cultural terms "Gypsy" (not the accepted term in the current nomenclature, dude) or Roma (a member of various groups such as the Rom, Romnichel, Ludar, etc.) It is interesting that, Just like the 419ers, home renovation scams, lottery ticket scam and handkerchief drop the old classic frauds just never seem to lose their effectiveness with the right mark. Everybody try to keep an eye on your elder relatives and friends. AARP would do well to include a "If it seems too good to be true" warning in their mailings.
It's like bofug says. These scams are as old as mankind. Whatcha gonna do about 'em?. All you can do is try to keep an eye out for the elderly but since these 'turtle doves' target old people with no relatives or social network, it's almost unavoidable .
Sad. I say we hang us a gypsy boys.
Now, now Ben Dover, let's not get all categorically hate-mongering on a particular group. Next thing ya know, there'll be a flame war about Al-Gharaib-ing WV gay teens or Electromagnetic Pulsing L-Train WBers blackberries. I just (even though I'm a "Gaj" in the Rom vernacular) have a unusual knowledge of the group(s). It's just kinda like Enron on a more personal scale.
I saw the guy on the news, it was sad. He was sweet. He said he's a lifelong bachelor and is still looking to date.