Couple face charges of bilking elderly

Authorities say three family members posed as nurses for elderly widowers and stole the credit cards of their deceased wives.

By MEGAN SCOTT
© St. Petersburg Times
published March 25, 2003

PALM HARBOR -- After nearly a yearlong search, a couple have been charged with stealing credit cards from elderly widowers and using them to make purchases in St. Petersburg, Tarpon Springs and Palm Harbor.

Finus Caksackkar, 68, and Patsy Caksackkar, 56, were arrested March 14 in Gautier, Miss., when police responded to a domestic dispute at their home. They were extradited to Florida on Thursday and booked into the Charlotte County jail.

The Florida Department of of Law Enforcement has charged the couple, along with Patsy Caksackkar's daughter, 31-year-old Tonya Michelle Brant, with bilking a Charlotte County man out of about $40,000 and swindling two elderly men out of large sums of money. They have been charged with fraudulent credit card use, scheme to defraud and exploitation of the elderly.

Brant was arrested last April in North Port. She is being held in the Sarasota County jail awaiting trial.

Brant "was arrested the day we went out to investigate and give a search warrant of the residence" in Florida, said Larry Long, spokesman for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. "When (the Caksackkars) realized they were going to be charged with the charges on them now, they fled."

Law enforcement officers believe the family members posed as nurses for elderly widowers and stole the credit cards of their deceased wives.

"They would find elderly men who lived alone and who may need constant attention, medical treatment and pose as a nurse to help these elderly gentlemen, and at the same time, basically stealing money from them," Long said Monday.

The victims lived in Charlotte and Sarasota counties. Long said he did not know when the fraud took place.

The credit cards were used at the offices of a psychic in St. Petersburg, a plastic surgeon in Palm Harbor and a veterinary clinic in Tarpon Springs. Details of what was purchased were not available Monday.

Long said there may be other victims out there. He also encourages businesses to check identification when credit cards are used to make purchases.

"Unfortunately, we see some businesses that don't check that," he said. "We hope that businesses will get better at that."

-- Megan Scott can be reached at (727) 445-4183 or mscott@sptimes.co .

To help

Anyone with information about these cases or other frauds involving the Caksackkars is asked to call the Florida Department of Law Enforcement at (727) 298-2482.

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