Roughly $36,000 that’s been raised from a GoFundMe campaign is a “blessing” for an elderly Florida couple whose former caretaker is charged with scamming them out of more than $100,000.
“It’s been a struggle,” 91-year-old Pinecrest resident Leonard Herman tells The Post in an email. “I was forced to retire a few years ago at 89. I’ve used up almost all the equity in our house with a reverse mortgage and what the caretaker stole was all we had left in savings … we are just taking things one day at a time.”
Leonard, a former builder, and his 93-year-old wife Rella — a Hungarian Holocaust survivor — employed 56-year-old Odalis Lopez beginning in 2011. Between then and her Aug. 2 arrest, Lopez allegedly began making charges using Rella’s credit cards. According to NBC Miami, Lopez was supposed to purchase the couple’s food and medicine, but is charged with using the money for pricey trips to a Publix grocery store, expensive restaurants and gift card purchases.
Citing the arrest warrant, NBC adds that Lopez allegedly took advantage of the Hermans’ disabilities and grief over losing their 65-year-old son, Marty, in 2015 to cancer.
Miami-Dade County criminal records show that Lopez was released on a $10,000 bond and awaits a Sept. 3 hearing. She’s charged with a felony count of theft from the elderly and a felony count of exploitation from the elderly.
Lopez’s defense attorney, Dennis Gonzalez, did not return a message seeking comment.
Micah Herman, the couple’s 41-year-old Los Angeles-based grandson, launched the campaign Aug. 5 with a $100,000 goal. That missing money was the couple’s retirement funds, he says, which included Holocaust reparation checks from the German government.
“I started the GoFundMe campaign because I was literally watching my grandparents’ lives turn upside down before my eyes,” says Micah, adding that the fear of losing their home, which Leonard built, was wearing on them. “My goal is to get the money … back so they can have peace of mind in the twilight of their lives, and we’re almost halfway there.”
For his part, Leonard says the crowd-funded $100,000 will most importantly allow him and Rella to remain in their home.
“We have lived here for 52 years and planned to spend the rest of our lives here together,” he says. He adds that 95 percent of the contributions have come from total strangers — some of whom have family members who are victims of fraud, or those who lost family members in the Holocaust.
“I grew up during the Depression and Rella survived the camps,” says Leonard. “We are survivors. But what this caretaker did devastated my wife. All I care about now is protecting her and making sure she feels safe.”