The 26-year-old woman who vanished after borrowing $20,000 from her 85-year-old victim surrendered Tuesday afternoon at the county courthouse, according to the Broward Sheriff's Office.
Detectives said Gina Marks told Clifford Rogerson, now 86, that she loved him and wanted to travel the world with him. But authorities said she ended up ripping him off and leaving him destitute.
Marks – who is also known as Gina Diprima or Amanda Gina Marks – was charged on Thursday with grand theft and exploitation of the elderly, the BSO said.
Marks befriended Rogerson around Nov. 30, 2012 at a Walgreens in Pompano Beach. He loaned her a dollar when she was short at the register.
“She needed another dollar, and then I said here, lady, take the dollar. This way you get out, don’t block up the line, you know?” Rogerson recalled.
Marks asked for his name and number, and their relationship seemingly blossomed from there, the Broward Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.
The pair held hands, kissed, and regularly ate together. Rogerson began loaning Marks money – and not just a dollar. Over three months, she borrowed more than $20,000, promising to repay him after her father’s business was sold, according to the BSO.
Local
Rogerson says Marks always vowed to repay him.
But when his retirement account dissipated, Marks disappeared from his life, the BSO said. Rogerson, who lives alone in a small Pompano Beach apartment, last heard from her in mid-February 2013. That’s when Marks called from a blocked number, saying she no longer had a cell phone, according to the BSO.
Rogerson reported the crime in May 2013, the BSO said.
He indicated in an interview that he hadn't dwelled much on whether his girlfriend may have been scheming to get his money.
“I didn’t think too much of it, you know? Maybe I didn’t want to think at that time,” he said.
