Stolen money spent on house, car, vacations: FL sheriff
The two girls had recognised each other for many years, officials reported.
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A Florida waitress swindled extra than a half-million bucks from a lady in her 90s — then expended some of the dollars on holidays to the Bahamas and Walt Disney Entire world, officials mentioned.
She also used the stolen funds to spend for her residence and buy a vehicle, according to the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office environment.
Now the waitress, whom deputies discovered as 45-calendar year outdated Sheena Russell, is experiencing several rates. Deputies didn’t listing legal professional details for her in a July 7 news launch.
Officials mentioned Russell was working at a Fort Walton Beach cafe when she received to know an older couple. Soon after the partner died, Russell commenced operating errands for his widow, who is now 99 several years old.
But Russell grew to become the issue of an investigation right after the widow’s brother shared a idea. Throughout their probe, officials claimed that far more than $582,647 had been stolen from the 99-calendar year-old’s bank account and have faith in.
“Among other items, Russell made use of cash from the target to support spend off her property finance loan, get a motor vehicle, and fund visits to Walt Disney Environment, Pigeon Forge Tennessee, the Atlantis Vacation resort in the Bahamas, and Washington, D.C., as perfectly as a ski vacation to Utah,” deputies wrote in their launch.
She is accused of stealing the income from March 2020 to September 2021.
“Russell promises she and the target had a joint business venture, while the victim states she did not give Russell consent to withdraw or transfer any money from her accounts,” the sheriff’s place of work wrote.
Russell is “charged with theft above $100,000, organized scheme to defraud far more than $50,000 and elderly exploitation,” officials claimed. She life in Navarre, on the Florida Panhandle and around 170 miles west of Tallahassee.