Hernando: Brooksville man charged with defrauding woman, 75

BROOKSVILLE -- A Brooksville man who brought his family into an elderly woman's house under the guise of caring for her has been charged with organized fraud in regard to her personal finances. Richard James Macchi, 55, is accused of writing six checks totaling $1,900 from the bank account of a 75-year-old woman who suffered three strokes last summer. According to the Hernando County Sheriff's Office, the woman said she returned home from the hospital to find that Macchi -- whom she knew -- had moved into her house with his wife and three children without her permission. She said Macchi told her that her doctor said she should not live alone and that he would pay her bills and care for her. The woman, whose name was not released because of the nature of the charges, said she had very poor eyesight and would let Macchi advise her and fill in checks. But she grew suspicious when he had her write checks without telling her what they were for. There were indications, too, according to sheriff's investigators, that as much as $24,000 may have been charged to the woman's credit cards and that someone had transferred debts from another bank to her credit cards.

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