MIAMI — A trial began Tuesday for a woman accused of swindling a 78-year-old Doral woman out of hundreds of thousands of dollars as she suffered from terminal cancer.
Ana Maria Nunez, 68, of southwest Miami-Dade, has a lengthy history of fraud in South Florida. Her Florida Department of Corrections profile shows past convictions on 16 charges, all related to grand theft or fraud.
But jurors won’t get to hear about those cases.
In this case, she faces charges of exploiting the elderly, theft and fraud.
She’s accused of targeting a woman with cancer and stealing her home and money.
“She befriended the victim while she was declining in health and dying of cancer,” Assistant State Attorney Stacy Cleveland said.
Police were searching for both Nunez and her son, who each allegedly had a role in the scheme. The state says Nunez posed as the victim’s daughter to obtain power of attorney and transferred money and ownership of the victim’s home to herself.
Authorities said she stole more than $430,000.
“Ms. Ana Nunez did not commit any crime but caring,” Nicholas Sconzo, her attorney, said Tuesday.
Nunez’s son, Pablo Figueroa, is set to go to trial in November.
Meanwhile, records show Nunez is still facing charges in various separate cases, including one stemming from a 2024 arrest.
In that case, she’s accused of bilking a Miami barbershop owner out of six figures after promising him returns in an investment involving the sale of satellites to China. Police said it was all bogus.
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