PLANTATION, Fla. — A 90-year-old South Florida great grandmother was recently victimized by a heartless crook, and now she is telling her story.
The woman, who doesn’t want to be identified, says she was duped by a guy posing as an internet repair man at her assisted living facility.
All her sentimental gold jewelry was stolen.
“The rings were from my first husband, who died in Cuba,” she said.
It happened on Tuesday at 11:30 a.m. at the Five Star Premier Residences of Plantation, located at 8500 W. Sunrise Blvd.
According to the victim, she says a guy just opened her door, saying he was there “to replace your box,” she recalled.
As it turned out, the internet was down, so she didn’t think anything of it.
“It seemed legit,” she said.
He went to her room, she says, and was only there for a matter of minutes.
“(He) got into the top drawer of my bureau, cleaned out all my gold, earrings, bracelets, necklaces (and) rings,” she said.
She said he also rifled through her purses to steal cash.
Family members said they’re concerned about a lack of cameras at the facility, and Local 10 News didn’t see any in common areas while at the facility.
“It was scary to think that could happen,” said Maria Merrill, the victim’s granddaughter. “We have no video surveillance to follow up on this.”
They also shared a letter that was sent to residents, confirming two other apartments were entered, likely by the same guy.
That letter read, in part:
“I’m writing to inform you of an incident that occurred yesterday in our Independent Living residence. Around 12:30 p.m., we became aware of a theft involving an unidentified male. This individual gained access to several resident apartments by testing door handles and falsely claiming to be a television technician. We can confirm that three apartments were entered under these circumstances.
“The police were notified immediately and have opened an active investigation. At this time, it remains unclear how the individual accessed the community.”
Local 10 News reached out to Five Star’s spokesperson, and the company released a statement which read, in part:
“Upon becoming aware of the situation, our team members immediately notified local authorities and implemented additional security measures in our community.”
The Plantation Police Department confirmed that there is an open investigation regarding the incident, but did not release any additional details.
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