Two women arrested accused of tricking an elderly man into taking his assets in Miami

authorities ofMiami-Dade reported the arrest of two women who deceived an 82-year-old man into taking possession of his assets, including a house in Coconut Grove, Miami.

Nerelis Leiva (45 years old) and Rita Benet (59) -Hispanic women whosenationality of origin has not transcended- are charged with exploitation and theft of a person over 65 years of age, organized scheme to commit fraud, criminal use of personal testimony information of a person over 70 years of age, illegal use of a false document and notary fraud, among other charges.

According to the advertisement, made inPress conference this Tuesday by Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernández-Rundle, the crime was discovered thanks to aneighbor who called the police when he noticed abrupt changes in the victim's home, who was an octogenarian and where suddenly parties began to be held and loud music was heard.

The investigation initiated as a result of that complaint was what led to uncovering the fraud suffered by the victim, identified as William Edward Sayers.

It all started in 2017 whenNerelis Leiva worked as a receptionist at a clinic for the elderly man's primary doctor, who "suffered from dementia, confusion, disorientation, and memory loss.", as explained by the prosecutor.

Upon realizing the elderly man's vulnerable state, Leiva approached the man and began visiting him at his home with the excuse of checking his blood glucose levels, without being a nurse or being trained to carry out those functions.

Shortly after, the man's partner and Nerelis Leiva died.She moved with her husband and son to the home.

“The idea when moving to the victim's house was to keep the property and all its assets”said Fernández-Rundle, who was accompanied at the press conference by the mayor of Miami-Dade,Daniella Levine-Cava.

In December 2021, Leiva benefited from a property transfer document (quitclaim deed). The value of the house was two million dollars andIn that document Leiva appeared as a co-owner with the right to survivorship.

“In this way, he obtained the automatic right to ownership of the property in the event of the victim's death. However, due to the mental state of the octogenarian, it is impossible for him to have made that document consciously,” stated the state prosecutor.

It was in February 2022 when the second defendant, Rita Benet, who worked as a notary inAmerican International Business and Associates and wenthired by Nerelis to participate in actions to defraud the victim.

Benet notarized all the documents attesting to the victim's alleged will,knowing that that person did not lack mental faculties to execute that legal step.

The documents gave Leiva authority over the elderly man's assets and bank accounts, whose money was spent in stores, restaurants and on Amazon purchases.

One month before the death of the victim - which occurred in July 2022 -Leiva signed a contract with a real estate agent to sell the house and the property was listed for sale at $1.6 million.

However, the sale did not come to fruition because the fraud suffered by the victim was discovered and the house passed into the hands of a university center as was the will of the old man.

Both women remain detained in jail.

The Secretary of the Miami-Dade Courts Juan Fernández-Barquín, present at the press conference, explained that there is a way to protect people against fraud. It is only necessary to register the name of the interested party, the email and the property folio on the court secretary's website.

This online registration means that any type of document that is registered with one's name will automatically generate a notification to the interested party.

The prosecutor urged anyone with information about any case of abuse of vulnerable people to call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477.