Senior citizen scammed out of $1M, Montgomery County state's attorney says
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. - Prosecutors in Montgomery County say a desperate senior citizen put her trust in the wrong person and got scammed out of more than $1 million.
Jonathan Robbins was found guilty Friday of two counts of theft, two counts of financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult, and two counts of misappropriation by a fiduciary.
"He was hired to handle the estate and the accounts of an elderly woman, and over a period of six years, he stole $1.8 million from her," said Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy.
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The victim, Helen Nutt, was an 88-year-old widow when she met Robbins, according to prosecutors. They said Robbins used Nutt’s money to finance all sorts of things, including a move from a townhouse to a 2.5 acre, 66,000 square-foot mansion in Potomac.
Robbins now faces up to 45 years in prison and is set to be sentenced in the next few weeks.
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Meanwhile, McCarthy said what happened to Nutt – who passed away several years ago – should serve as a lesson to us all.
"Try to make sure there’s some kind of a balance, a check and balance in the way your estates are set up. There was no check or balance here," McCarthy said.
Robbins was taken into custody Friday. His attorney declined comment.