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Eduardo López, 66 years old, was arrested in Miami on charges of financial fraud and neglect of an elderly person after detectives uncovered that he was using the government benefits of his missing mother, an 86-year-old woman whose whereabouts have been unknown since April 2023.
The investigation, revealed by Telemundo 51, arose during the active search for the woman, who has not been located for over three years.
According to police spokesperson Kiara Delva, detectives determined that the accused was using his mother's EBT card to buy groceries and cashing his Social Security checks to pay for the rent of the home they both shared in the Allapattah area of Miami.
"The detectives discovered that the accused had been using the Social Security and EBT benefits provided by the government through an electronic card belonging to the missing woman," Delva explained.
The police also reported that López admitted to detectives that he did not take proper care of his mother because he felt uncomfortable seeing her naked.
The authorities have been trying for years to locate the elderly woman without success.
"This woman was reported missing in April 2023, and since then we have been unable to locate her. We have distributed flyers, canvassed the community, and spoken with neighbors, but no one knows anything," Delva stated.
López appeared before a judge facing multiple charges of financial fraud and neglect toward a person over the age of 65.
The judge set a bail of 60,000 dollars while the investigation continues.
Residents in the Allapattah area expressed surprise at the police presence in the neighborhood.
"Around here, the police came, did their job, and then left. I didn't know anything about that," commented a local resident.
Another neighbor, who had been living in the area for only a few months, described the accused as "a good person."
The case involves two serious crimes: fraud against federal programs—using someone else's EBT card constitutes federal fraud, just as cashing Social Security checks without legal authorization does—and the possible neglect or abandonment of a vulnerable elderly person.
Florida is one of the states with the highest proportion of seniors in the country and has a specialized unit, the Elder Protection Team of the state attorney general's office, dedicated to investigating fraud, abuse, and exploitation against individuals aged 60 and older.
The Florida state law classifies the exploitation of the elderly as a first-degree felony when the amount involved exceeds $50,000, with penalties that may lead to additional charges as the investigation progresses regarding the whereabouts of the elderly woman.
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