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According to Connecticut police, a woman stole $600,000.
According to police, she tried to hide it by convincing him that he had Alzheimer's.
Donna Marino was taken into custody last Wednesday. She was charged with third-degree forgery and first-degree grand theft.
Police say that a woman stole $600,000. She did this over a period of 20 years. She then hid her alleged scheme by convincing her husband that he had Alzheimer's Disease.
According to The Washington Post, Donna Marino, a Connecticut police officer, stole money from her mother, including workers' compensation and pension checks. She also deposited some money into her mother’s bank account.
According to The Post, Marino was taken into custody by East Haven Police Department investigators. She has been charged with third-degree forgery and first-degree grand theft. Marino was arrested last Wednesday by East Haven Police Department investigators. She was charged with first-degree grand larceny and third-degree forgery.
Elena Marino, Marino's adult daughter, reported the fraud to police in March 2019. She said she discovered financial paperwork lying around at her father's house for credit cards that he didn't know about. According to a warrant affidavit obtained from the New Haven Register, Marino, the daughter claimed, forged documents to take control of her father’s finances.
Marino's husband was not named by police. He told them Marino had control of their finances and that he didn't know about the fraud. Police claimed that Marino convinced her husband she had Alzheimer's to conceal the fraudulent activities.
"Donna explained to her husband that when he wanted to enter the bank to do a transaction, she said that he had made a scene because of his Alzheimer's Disease. He decided not to go in to avoid embarrassment." Sgt. Gregory Borer stated in the affidavit, using the Register report.
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Borer said that Donna explained to Borer that she created this scenario in order to stop her husband from entering the bank and finding the low balances in their accounts.
Borer stated that Donna Marino said to police that she used the money "to help her family" and not "go on shopping sprees, or vacations," according the affidavit.
Borer wrote that Donna stated she wanted to make everyone happy, but that it was at her husband's expense.
WFSB's Elena Marino, the victim's daughter, said that Marino's husband believed her because Marino's mother had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Elena Marino stated that her father was afraid of being diagnosed with the disease as he grew older.
"He looks at me and says, "Honey, is this true?" Are you broke? "Am I broke?"" Elena Marino asked WSFB. Imagine your father crying to yourself. It was horrible. He was like, "Do you have Alzheimer's?" He's like, "Do I have Alzheimer's?" And I'm like: "Dad, you don't have Alzheimer's." You are lying to her."
Donna Marino was married to her husband in 2009. He filed for divorce in January 2020 after the alleged scheme. He initially decided not to press charges. However, Elena Marino, her husband, reached out to police in March 2020 and informed them that they wanted to pursue criminal charges.
Insider reached out to the East Haven Police Department for clarification, but they did not immediately respond.
Insider has the original article.
