An Indiana woman who defrauded a 96-year-old man of nearly $80,000 using a dating app has been sentenced to three years in federal prison, a U.S. attorney announced Wednesday.
Brittany Lakia Shonaye Lasley, 34, of Anderson, created a social media account with false profile information on the dating site Plenty of Fish and then used It is said that she used it to have an online romance with a man sitting by the window. Zachary Cunha.
Over time, Lasley convinced her 96-year-old girlfriend to send her money, gift cards, credit cards, and even sensitive banking information. She then accessed his checking account and made several unauthorized purchases, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Cunha said Lasley led the victim to believe that these gifts would continue to foster a romantic relationship.
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Brittany Lakia Shonaye Lasley, 34, of Anderson, was sentenced to three years in federal prison for using a dating app to defraud a 96-year-old widow. (St. Petersburg)
U.S. District Judge William E. Smith on Wednesday sentenced her to 36 months in prison, followed by three years of federal supervised release, with the first six months to be served in a residential reentry facility.
During Wednesday's sentencing hearing, federal prosecutors said the victim said in a shock statement that she was “shocked and in disbelief. It took me several days to realize what had happened.”
The statement continued: “I feared I would lose the home I had lived in since 1970 and was confused, frightened and heartbroken about my financial situation.”
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“This defendant preyed on vulnerable elderly Rhode Islanders by dangling promises of love and companionship in order to keep his victims' hard-earned savings for himself,” Cunha said in a statement. did.
In a shock statement, the victim said: “I was shocked and in disbelief. It took me several days to understand what had happened.” (St. Petersburg)
“With this sentence, Mr. Lasley rightly pays the price for his horrific actions. I commend the extraordinary work of the team of state, federal, and local law enforcement experts who brought this defendant to justice.” Ta. added the lawyer.
Lt. Ketty D. Larcoward of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service Boston Division similarly lamented that Lasley victimizes “vulnerable” people to “satisfy his own desires.”
“There is no worse predator than someone who preys on the vulnerable, and in this case Mr. Lasley targeted lonely elderly people to satisfy his own desires,” Larcoward said. “The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is proud to work with our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners to protect vulnerable members of our communities and bring those who victimize them to justice. Masu.”
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Lasley originally pleaded guilty on September 6, 2023, to a single charge of wire fraud.
Over time, Lasley convinced her 96-year-old girlfriend to send her money, gift cards, credit cards, and even sensitive banking information. (Photo illustration by Budrul Chukrut/SOPA Images/LightRocket, Getty Images)
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul F. Daley Jr. and Peter Lochlan prosecuted the case.
Coventry-Rhode Island Police Department, Anderson-Indiana Police Department, Indiana State Police, U.S. Marshals Service, and U.S. Postal Service Inspector General assisted in the investigation.
