St. Charles County elder targeted in $300K fraud scheme; Georgia woman charged
ST. LOUIS – A woman accused of targeting an elderly St. Charles County man in a fraud scheme that yielded hundreds of thousands of dollars has turned herself in to authorities in Georgia.
Shanita Gray, 51, faces ten counts of wire fraud, four counts of aggravated identity theft, and one count of use of a counterfeit access device in a federal indictment unsealed Friday.
The indictment accuses Gray of using the elderly victim’s personal information to obtain financial power of an attorney to access the credit and debit cards and financial accounts of the alleged victim. Investigators say the victim is a widower from a St. Charles County nursing home.
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According to the indictment, Gray notified the administrators of the victim’s nursing home that she was seeking emergency guardianship of him. She also concealed the existence of the victim’s half-sister and told the victim’s son that she would manage his financial affairs.
Gray reportedly searched the victim’s home to locate personal identifying information, identify his financial accounts, take possession of his debit and credit cards and obtain samples of his handwriting. The indictment alleges that she obtained online access to his financial accounts, added herself as a beneficiary and changed his contact information on financial accounts to her Georgia address.
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According to the indictment, Gray obtained more than $300,000 by selling shares in the victim’s investment accounts, transferring funds out of his bank accounts, and drawing checks for her benefit. She allegedly conducted electronic funds transfers to pay her bills and redirected the victim’s pension and retirement checks to her personal and business bank accounts.
If convicted, Gray could face up to 20 years in prison on each wire fraud charge.
Federal prosecutors say the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General and the Maryland Heights Police Department assisted with the investigation.
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