NJ Man Admits Cheating Dementia-Stricken Neighbor
EAST ORANGE, N.J. (AP) — A northern New Jersey man has admitted conning his 90-year-old dementia-stricken neighbor out of $50,000.
Acting Attorney General John Hoffman said 64-year-old Gilbert Vaughn pleaded guilty Friday to insurance fraud, theft, and identity theft charges. He faces a 5-year prison term when he's sentenced Nov. 14.
Hoffman said Vaughn and the victim were neighbors in an East Orange senior citizen community.
In July 2013, the state's Public Guardian's Office placed the victim into state guardianship, citing his dementia and that he didn't have family members willing or able to help him. Hoffman said Vaughn testified as a witness at the Guardian's Office hearings, saying the victim needed to be protected from his children, who he claimed were taking advantage of his finances.
But starting the next month, authorities said Vaughn convinced the victim to withdraw money from an annuity he held. The $50,000 was withdrawn before the account was frozen.
Vaughn was arrested in June after Bloomfield police pulled him over while he was driving the victim's car. Authorities said he gave police the victim's license and impersonated him.
"This defendant seized on the vulnerable state of his so-called friend, taking for himself the financial lifeline of a nonagenarian who had worked hard to secure his retirement," Hoffman said.
"Some in New Jersey's elderly population are able to rely on their family or friends to assist them with their financial affairs. The victim in this case, sadly, was not that fortunate," Hoffman added. "Mr. Vaughn was certainly no friend. He was a criminal who viewed the victim as easy prey."
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