Florida couple befriended man with dementia and caused him to lose $2 million, feds say
After an older man’s dementia diagnosis, he had his life savings stolen — and real estate sold — by a married couple who befriended him, federal prosecutors said.
Wendy Renee Bunner, 47, helped her husband Samuel Bunner, 50, steal more than $2 million from the man he worked with when they all lived in West Virginia, according to prosecutors.
The Bunners, of Spring Hill, Florida, are accused of draining the man’s bank accounts, selling his Hawaii condo, his home in West Virginia and buying real estate of their own with his money, including a home in Spring Hill, which Zillow estimates is worth $312,400, court documents show.
The couple also went on vacations, purchased cars, Oakley sunglasses and Louis Vuitton items, according to prosecutors and a superseding indictment.
Wendy Bunner was charged with money laundering and lying to a federal agent on July 19 — joining her husband as a co-defendant in the case after he was charged in May with wire fraud, bank fraud, identity theft, and money laundering, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of West Virginia announced in a July 19 news release.
“This is a sad story about someone who worked hard his whole life, saved his money, and then when he began to suffer from cognitive decline, had everything stolen by an opportunist,” U.S. Attorney William Ihlenfeld said in a May 23 statement regarding the charges against Samuel Bunner.
Information about Wendy Bunner’s legal representation wasn’t listed in court records the afternoon of July 20.
Kevin D. Mills, a criminal defense attorney representing Samuel Bunner, told McClatchy News in a statement that his client “is disappointed and saddened by the government’s decision, now at this late date, to charge his wife with crimes they previously alleged he committed.”
“He is relying on his prior not guilty plea and the presumption of their innocence under our Constitution and system of Justice,” Mills said, while adding that Samuel Bunner “is praying for and supporting his wife fully and he looks forward to her complete exoneration.”
How the couple’s scheme unfolded
The Bunners befriended the older man, identified only as “W.W.” in court documents, when Samuel Bunner worked with him at a veterans service organization, the American Legion, in Charles Town, according to the superseding indictment.
As the couple began helping the man with his day-to-day activities, Samuel Bunner started attending his medical appointments, including in March 2020, when the man was assessed for a mild cognitive impairment, the superseding indictment says. This was more than a year before the man was officially diagnosed with dementia in June 2021, according to the superseding indictment.
On Jan. 29, 2021, Samuel Bunner gained control over the man’s finances when they visited a law firm and he became his power of attorney, according to the superseding indictment.
The Bunners ended up selling the man’s Hawaii condo, causing $500,452 from the sale to be deposited in a joint bank account in April 2021 that Samuel Bunner added the man to, according to prosecutors and the superseding indictment.
Wendy Bunner is accused of lying to a federal agent in connection with selling the condo, prosecutors said.
In May 2021, the Bunners obtained a $280,318 cashier’s check from the joint bank account and used the man’s money to buy property in Charles Town, prosecutors said. The type of property they’re accused of buying wasn’t specified.
The couple sold the man’s home in Charles Town in February 2022 and wired the proceeds of this sale into a separate account held by the Bunners, according to the superseding indictment.
The couple also emptied the man’s investment accounts and opened a credit card in his name, according to prosecutors.
If the Bunners are sentenced in the case, they must forfeit all property they bought with the man’s money, including the Spring Hill home, assorted Ryobi tools, Oakley sunglasses and the Louis Vuitton items, the superseding indictment shows.
The couple is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Eleanor Hurney, of the Northern District of West Virginia, the release said.
The Jefferson County Prosecutor’s Office in West Virginia, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Middle District of Florida and FBI-Tampa helped investigate the Bunners, prosecutors said.
Spring Hill is about 40 miles north of Tampa.
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