A certified nursing assistant in Florida is facing serious charges after police say she stole hundreds of thousands in life savings from a Holocaust survivor and her husband.
Miami-Dade Police took 56-year-old Odalis Lopez into custody on Friday. She faces felony charges of grand theft and elderly financial exploitation.
The victims of the CNA’s alleged theft are Rella and Leonard Herman, who are in their early 90s, according to their grandson, Micah Herman.
“My grandmother is a beautiful person and has a beautiful outlook on life. She’s a survivor of the Holocaust,” Micah Herman said. “My grandfather worked as long as he could, until he was 89 years old.”
Police say Lopez, who worked for the Hermans as a CNA for seven years, ripped off most of the couple’s savings.
“It was disgusting. She started [spending] just exorbitant amounts of money,” Micah Herman said. “They have been stripped of everything.”
Family members noticed wild spending on the couple's credit card statement, including parties, margaritas and gift cards from Publix, Chili’s and Cheesecake Factory. The arrest warrant says the “transactions at Publix were the most significant, totaling $116,322.”
“This one is really all about greed,” said Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle. “Selfish indulgence, it seems like, based on the purchases that we’ve seen.”
Prosecutors say Lopez had access to the couple’s credit cards while providing care and growing closer to the couple over the years.
Micah Herman says he finds it disturbing someone in the healthcare profession would take advantage of an elderly couple this way.
“This was her only friend. This is someone she saw more than anybody,” he said.
To make matters worse, Micah Herman says because Rella Herman is a Holocaust survivor who lost her mother at Auschwitz, most of the savings came from reparation checks from the German government.
“This was reparation money. We’re talking about what the German government gives to survivors,” Micah Herman said. “How could you do something like this?”
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help the couple recover.
Lopez has bonded out of jail. Her next court hearing is scheduled for Sept. 3.
Copyright 2019 WSVN, Family photos, Miami-Dade Police via CNN. All rights reserved.
yellowstonekelly on August 7th, 2019 at 13:52 UTC »
Elderly people are SO vulnerable to this type of crime as they become more dependent on those around them to assist in handling their daily affairs. My parents began asking me to come to their house whenever they had a serviceman in, not because I necessarily knew what the guy was doing, but simply to ask questions, clarify the work being done and the charges, and demonstrate there was someone else around watching what was happening. Same with meetings with financial advisors, etc.
It makes a big difference if people know there's another set of eyes looking over the situation.
vanishplusxzone on August 7th, 2019 at 13:28 UTC »
It's really scary how this sort of thing happens. Even when you're involved in your elder family's life, they grow to trust these caretakers a lot because they need them. Or your grandma may not want to trouble you with her finances because she thinks you're so busy even if she does think something wrong.
I watched a caretaker jewelry thief nearly tear my family apart when my great grandma could still somewhat care for herself. I always thought it was really creepy that woman's picture was with ours on my great grandma's shelves, and it was a relief when my great grandma moved somewhere else.
Tup00 on August 7th, 2019 at 11:47 UTC »
A special kind of evil and scumbag