Second arrest in alleged theft by funeral home worker of 84-year-old client's home and life savings
A second person has been arrested for allegedly defrauding an 84-year-old man who has Alzheimer's disease out of his home and life savings, CBS Miami reports.
Police say Andy Mora is one of two people who persuaded the elderly victim to sign over the house and funds, claiming to him that they were family.
Mora's arrest came a day after police took 57-year-old Maribel Torres into custody.
Authorities say she was a funeral home worker who met the victim while he was making arrangements for his wife the day after she died in August 2019.
It wasn't clear what Mora's relationship was with Torres.
Authorities say Torres not only filed paperwork to take the house but took out business loans under a corporation she created, using the victim's residence and collecting more than $400,000.
Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle told CBS Miami it all came to light when "a good nephew who went back to check up on his uncle."
The nephew discovered Torres and her son had moved into the victim's home, which he reported to authorities.
The home "has technically been sold and borrowed against," Rundle told CBS Miami.
It will be nearly impossible to get the house back, the station notes.
Mora and Torres are facing several felony charges, including exploitation of an elderly person.
Rundle says she worries there may be other victims.