Woman sentenced to prison for dismembering victim's body during wire fraud scheme
A woman from West Hills has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for her scheme that included stealing about $3.9 million and dismembering her victim after he died.
"This defendant's misconduct was both greedy and grotesque, causing profound pain to the victims and their loved ones," United States Attorney Martin Estrada said. "There must be serious consequences for those who prey on vulnerable communities, such as older adults, and my office will remain steadfast in bringing these offenders to justice."
The federal judge presiding over the sentencing also ordered 44-year-old Caroline Joanne Herrling, also known as, Carrie Phenix, to pay back the $3,887,051 she stole during the scheme. During the hearing, the judge said the victim was "a man and a human being," but Herrling "did not see that," treating the elderly man "like a cash register."
The US Department of Justice said Herrling and her accomplices preyed on vulnerable victims by searching for messy homes in rich neighborhoods. She used online maps to find algae-filled swimming pools or overgrown shrubs to determine whether or not a property would be a good mark.
In 2020, Herrling and her co-conspirators broke into a home owned by an elderly man, matching their criteria. In September 2020, the victim died inexplicably. Investigators believe that Herrling and the others took over the home shortly after the victim died.
While the body decomposed, Herrling and her accomplices looted the victim's assets. Herling used a forged power-of-attorney form to pilfer the man's real estate and financial accounts. She continued the con, crafting elaborate schemes to get herself more money through her deceased victim's connections by forging documents to make the transactions appear real.
Investigators believe Herrling and her crew tried to dissolve the victim's body in chemicals after people started reporting him missing. Their first attempt to get rid of the remains failed, so they resorted to cutting up the elderly man and placing him into several vacuum-sealed bags.
They moved the dismembered pieces to the Bay Area where someone dumped the mutilated remains into the ocean, according to investigators.
The remains have never been found.