A sample of scams from around the bay area

By Times Staff
Published November 27, 2007

The crime against the couple discussed in our main story is merely one of uncounted incidents perpetrated against older adults recently in the Tampa Bay area.

Most often the victims have been persuaded to buy items that are overpriced or unnecessary, ranging from water-filtration systems to hearing aids to in-home health care plans.

Following is a sample of crimes against the elderly that have been reported in the Times during the past few months:

WOMAN'S 'WIN' COMES WITH A $3,500 LOSS

A 91-year-old Brooksville woman fell victim to an international telephone scam that turned increasingly absurd, and expensive, over a matter of days.

The woman, who was not identified by Hernando County sheriff's officials, lost $3,500.

Authorities are not optimistic that she will recover any of her money because the scam extended overseas.

The con, sheriff's officials said, began recently when the woman received a phone call from a man who identified himself as Jack Johnson. The stranger had good news: The woman had won $425,000 in an American Sweepstakes Network in New York.

All she had to do to claim her prize was to send $1,500 as insurance on her winnings to someone named Flory Munoz of Costa Rica.

She did. Jack Johnson called again, on Aug. 8. The initial $1,500 was not enough to cover the insurance, he said. She needed to send an additional $2,000, this time to another person overseas. The victim received no "winnings."

MAN SENTENCED IN LOTTERY SCAM

More than a dozen elderly victims will receive part of $200,000 in restitution from a man who pleaded guilty to managing a telemarketing lottery scam.

Vasilios Kolitsidas, 38, was sentenced to just over 51/2 years in prison by U.S. District Judge James S. Moody Jr. Kolitsidas paid $200,000 in restitution and must forfeit another $337,000.

He pleaded guilty to his role in a sweepstakes and lottery scheme that scammed more than $1.6-million in Florida and South Carolina.

FOURTH SUSPECT CHARGED IN SCAM

Hillsborough County sheriff's deputies arrested a fourth suspect in a fraud ring that authorities say scammed at least 12 elderly victims out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Joel K. Hill, 37, of Valrico faces charges of grand theft, exploitation of an elderly person and contracting without a license.

Deputies began investigating after Mary Shower, 77, was hospitalized with severe arthritis and asked a friend to help pay her bills. The friend discovered that Shower had paid for phony repairs on her home while mentally confused by pain medicine. Detectives estimated she had paid about $115,000 for $10,000 worth of work.

ACCUSED AGENT'S LICENSE IS REVOKED

Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink has revoked the license of an insurance agent accused of exploiting seniors.

The state hopes that will finally shut down a Pasco husband-and-wife team accused of misleading seniors and bilking them out of thousands of dollars.

The state said Sharon Razdar persuaded seniors to trade their old annuities and investments for new ones that didn't benefit them -but did benefit her.

The agent earned big commissions, the state says, while her customers paid the penalties and fees Razdar incurred. Her license was revoked last month.

It's similar to the scam the state accused her husband, Bijan Razdar, of perpetrating since the 1990s. His license was yanked last year.

THIEF TRICKS VICTIM WITH TREAT

We will not say her full name, because she is vulnerable, but she is 82 and she was once a gracious host. No longer.

On May 24, a Pasco County sheriff's report said, the woman - her first name is Elly - was walking her dogs north of State Road 54 and east of Little Road when a young woman got out of a car and introduced herself as a new neighbor.

She had a husband and two young children with her. She said she had baked Elly an apple pie.

Elly didn't know that nearly half a dozen similar scams have been reported in Pinellas and Hillsborough counties in the past month. She didn't know the crooks pose as a family.

So she invited them into her house.

Once inside, the man sat down to talk with Elly's 84-year-old husband, who recently had a stroke. Elly offered grape juice to the children and watched them while they soaked their feet in the swimming pool.

The mother asked Elly to change a $100 bill. Then she apparently stayed in the bathroom for nearly 15 minutes. She asked for a tour of the house. She left to "check on the pie" but returned without it, and as she prepared to leave, she told Elly, "Put on the coffee, and I'll be back with the pie."

Elly brewed the coffee, set the table with white china. The "neighbors" never returned. Later, Elly checked her jewelry box. Nearly $1,000 worth of jewelry was missing.

[Last modified November 27, 2007, 07:50:46]