Man arrested in scheme to exploit Miami-Dade woman, 94, out of $600K home – NBC 6 South Florida

A man was arrested after he schemed to exploit a 94-year-old Miami-Dade woman out of cash and her $600,000 home, authorities said.

Alejandro F. Diaz Torriente, 65, is facing charges including organized scheme to defraud, exploitation of an elderly person, and grand theft.

Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle announced the arrest at a Friday afternoon news conference.

“It just breaks your heart to see what people are willing to do to another human being,” Fernandez Rundle said.

The arrest was made after a four-month investigation by the State Attorney’s Office Elder and Vulnerable Adult Exploitation Task Force.

Fernandez Rundle said the woman had been living on her own in the El Portal home she’d bought in 1980, but in 2021 was declared legally incompetent. Her neighbor’s daughter, who had helped her out in recent years, became her legal guardian in 2022.

The daughter had noticed Torriente, who had been an acquaintance of the elderly woman, had visited her frequently during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Fernandez Rundle said Torriente started referring to her as “mom” and identified himself as her son during doctor’s visits and other interactions.

The legal guardian also started to notice that the woman’s social security benefits were being redirected to unknown bank account.

It turned out Torriente opened bank accounts that he used to defraud the woman out of almost $20,000 in cash, Fernandez Rundle said.

He also filed a fraudulent title adding himself as a joint tenant with right of survivorship to her home, Fernandez Rundle said.

While he did this, Torriente moved into the woman’s home, changed the locks, and wouldn’t give the guardian keys or access to the elderly woman, Fernandez Rundle said.