Waitress steals $500K from woman in 90s to pay for trips, house and car, Florida cops say
A Florida waitress swindled more than a half-million dollars from a woman in her 90s — then spent some of the money on vacations to the Bahamas and Walt Disney World, officials said.
She also used the stolen funds to pay for her house and buy a car, according to the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office.
Now the waitress, whom deputies identified as 45-year old Sheena Russell, is facing several charges. Deputies didn’t list attorney information for her in a July 7 news release.
Officials said Russell was working at a Fort Walton Beach restaurant when she got to know an older couple. After the husband died, Russell started running errands for his widow, who is now 99 years old.
But Russell became the subject of an investigation after the widow’s brother shared a tip. During their probe, officials reported that more than $582,647 had been stolen from the 99-year-old’s bank account and trust.
“Among other things, Russell used funds from the victim to help pay off her mortgage, buy a vehicle, and fund trips to Walt Disney World, Pigeon Forge Tennessee, the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas, and Washington, D.C., as well as a ski trip to Utah,” deputies wrote in their release.
She is accused of stealing the money from March 2020 to September 2021.
“Russell claims she and the victim had a joint business venture, while the victim says she did not give Russell consent to withdraw or transfer any money from her accounts,” the sheriff’s office wrote.
Russell is “charged with theft over $100,000, organized scheme to defraud more than $50,000 and elderly exploitation,” officials said. She lives in Navarre, on the Florida Panhandle and roughly 170 miles west of Tallahassee.
