MOTHER AND DAUGHTER GUILTY OF ATTEMPTED GRAND LARCENY IN SCHEME TO STEAL MORE THAN HALF A MILLION DOLLARS FROM ELDERLY STROKE VICTIM
Bronx District Attorney Robert T. Johnson announced today that two Bronx women have pled guilty to one count of Attempted Grand Larceny in the 2nd degree for stealing the assets of an elderly stroke victim during her hospitalization and recovery.
Burnestha Wilder, 57, and her daughter Rayleshia Cage, 37, admitted raiding the bank accounts of Queen Wilson, who was 84 years old when the crime occurred between September 1, 2006 and March 7, 2007. Cage also pled guilty to one count of Petit larceny for illegally collecting $9,000 in Medicaid benefits while employed at an accounting firm at an annual salary of $40,000.
Prior to being sentenced to a Conditional Discharge by Acting State Supreme Court Justice Steven Barrett, Wilder, of 225 East 149th Street, and Cage, of 309 East 162nd Street, signed a stipulation of settlement and a voluntary discontinuance of a civil action by the District Attorney’s Office to seize their assets. As a result, $139,000 that had been stolen from Queen Wilson was returned to her accounts. The court also issued a judgement for an additional $6,000 in compensation to Wilson.
The stipulation of settlement in the civil action also calls for a total of $60,204 to be paid to the estate of a second elderly victim, Arlene McPherson, who was 73 years old at the time of her death on December 26, 2007. Although criminal charges in this matter were never filed, Wilder agreed to return the money. McPherson, who owned an apartment house in the neighborhood, was befriended by Wilder and persuaded to make her a joint holder on the elderly woman’s bank accounts. Wilder’s financial relationship with McPherson came to light during the investigation into the theft involving Queen Wilson’s assets.
Under terms of the Conditional Discharge, Cage also must pay $9,000 in restitution to the City of New York for welfare fraud.
Wilson discovered the theft in June 2006 when she returned to her apartment following treatment and rehabilitation after suffering a stroke. Check books and bank books were missing, checks had been written on her accounts, and ownership of a $400,000 annuity had been fraudulently transferred to Cage. Wilson contacted her minister who confronted Cage and also notified the elderly woman’s bank. Representatives from Emigrant Savings Bank alerted the Bronx District Attorney’s Office which began an investigation. Cage, meanwhile, returned the annuity to Wilson after the minister questioned her about it.
During the course of this investigation it was learned that Wilder had been convicted on federal charges for fraudulently collecting a dead man’s Social Security benefits. Wilder was placed on probation and ordered to repay approximately $100,000 to the U.S. Treasury Department. Although the illegally obtained proceeds were sitting in Wilder’s bank accounts accruing interest, she stole money from Queen Wilson in order to satisfy the federal assessment. As a result of Wilder’s arrest on the Bronx case and information obtained from a search warrant executed by federal authorities, a federal judge ruled that Wilder had violated the terms of her probation. She was sentenced to serve 9 months in a federal detention center beginning on Monday, December 1, 2008.
District Attorney Johnson thanked Senior Investigative Assistant District Attorney Richard Baker, Detective Investigator Vincent Canterella, Forensic Accountant Julio Santiago, and Elder Abuse Coordinator Ellen Kolodney for their hard work in the successful prosecution of this case.
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