A 63-year-old Connecticut woman was arrested after allegedly convincing her husband that he had Alzheimer’s for 20 years as part of a scam to take hundreds of thousands of dollars from him.
Donna Marino convinced her husband that he was suffering from Alzheimer’s to cash her husband’s pension checks, worker compensation, and his Social Security payments, making off with approximately $600,000 over the years, according to a police report from the East Haven Police Department, the Washington Post reported.
“She was making up stories in the morning telling him that he was running around the house chasing her. He was chasing her saying, ‘Get out of my house. I don’t know you,'” the daughter told WTSB News, explaining that Marino was able to hide what she was doing by convincing her father he had Alzheimer’s and using her power of attorney status.
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While Marino’s 73-year-old husband informed police that he believed the theft began in 1999, the man’s daughter, Elena Marino, reported her suspicions in March 2019 that a fraud was taking place, according to a news release, the outlet reported. Elena became suspicious upon discovering paperwork for credit cards her father had no knowledge of, alleging that Marino had forged his signature.
Initially, the husband told police that Marino was in charge of the finances, eventually having his daughter tell them that he wished to drop charges against his wife. Subsequently, the couple divorced and the man reopened the investigation against Marino, according to the news release.
Marino admitted to police during an interview in January 2021 that she had spent 13 years engaged in the forgery and theft of her husband’s funds, according to the police report. According to police investigators, Marino was able to steal roughly $216,000 out of her husband’s pension payments.
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Marino, who was arrested on Oct. 27, was charged with first-degree larceny and third-degree forgery, according to the police report. The woman was later released from jail and was given a court date of Nov. 29.
The Washington Examiner reached out to the East Haven Police Department for a statement but did not immediately receive a response.
