A nurse is accused of scamming an elderly Pinecrest man and his Holocaust survivor wife out of thousands of dollars over a period of several years.
Odalis Lopez, 56, was arrested Friday on charges including theft from elderly and exploitation of elderly. Lopez had been employed as a caretaker by 91-year-old Rella Herman and 90-year-old Leonard Herman since 2011 but is accused of slowly betraying their trust.
According to an arrest warrant, Lopez started to make exorbitant charges using Rella Herman's credit cards. Lopez was supposed to buy their groceries and prescriptions but instead went on a personal spending spree, from expensive trips to Publix in Briar Bay, to pricey restaurants and gift card purchases, the warrant said.
Lopez allegedly took advantage of her client's disabilities and grief over losing their son to steal upwards of $100,000 dollars from the couple, the warrant said.
"My grandmother survived one tragedy which was the Holocaust and then her only son passed away in 2015, and the fact that at that point in time, the caretaker increased the fraudulent charges and took advantage of her despair and depression is what I find to be revolting," grandson Micah Herman told NBC 6 on Tuesday.
Micah Herman said the couple's retirement funds, including Holocaust reparation checks, have been depleted. He started a GoFundMe for the couple.
Lopez was booked into jail and released on bond. Attorney information wasn't available.
