A Florida lawyer was sentenced to five years in prison for defrauding a 108-year-old client out of $3 million; the victim passed away just days before the lawyer was prosecuted.
As a result of a Friday plea agreement entered in Orlando, Florida, Matthew Roby received the sentence.
Helen Kuhn, his elderly victim, sadly passed away just 16 days before. She had expressed enthusiasm at the possibility of hearing the “keys jangling” as Roby was brought down.
Kuhn was of sharp mind when Roby began working as her lawyer in 2019, after taking over the job from his later father Ronald.
However, Roby managed to mislead Kuhn into giving him power of attorney; the fraud was only discovered when Kuhn received a far larger tax bill than she had anticipated.
When she became suspicious, a fraud detective saw her papers, and Roby was soon charged.
According to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office and Fox News, Roby was charged with grand theft of more than $100,000 and exploitation of an older person.
According to a report, Roby utilized Khun’s millions during that period as his own bank account, which he used for entertainment and to pay others.
His deception comprised moving her money to a different bank.
According to Kuhn, Roby intended to save the majority of the money until her passing and then spend it then.
Kuhn, who had taught in schools for almost forty years and was highly intelligent despite her age, noticed something was off when she got a sizable tax bill.
When she questioned Roby about why the bill was so expensive, he just urged her to pay it.
As soon as Kuhn realized her lawyer was lying, she began her own independent research.
Her first stop was calling the sheriff’s office to inform them of her concerns over her cunning lawyer, who she apparently trusted.
Roby’s activities were the subject of a three-year investigation by Detective Chris Williams, and the results were astounding.
Roby moved $490,000 from Kuhn’s bank account to her company’s trust account from March through September of 2019.
Roby’s acts had astonished and appalled Kuhn. She thought he was simply waiting for her to pass away so he could take her life savings.
‘Helen taught school for 35 years, flew planes until the age of 93 and drove until the age of 101,’ Orange County officials said, Fox News reported
She was in control of her finances as well and was horrified by the deceit she encountered. The money that was stolen, totaling about $2.4 million, has already been found.
After the con artist was apprehended by the authorities, she delighted in the thought of him doing years in prison as punishment for his wrongdoing.
Sadly, she passed away two weeks before he was convicted, despite the quick-witted Kuhn’s repeated claims that she couldn’t wait to hear the jingle of the keys when he was apprehended.
Roby was not charged with any crimes in that case, according to the prosecution, even though the majority of the money he stole was used to pay into another estate.
He was debarred and can no longer practice law in Florida after his arrest in 2021.
The apple didn’t fall far from the tree.
Ronald Roby, the son of Roby, served as the family’s lawyer up until he was forced to resign in 2014 due to financial theft, according to ABC9 News.
The senior Roby was charged with robbing a customer of tens of thousands of dollars. In August, he will receive his sentence and be required to repay the money he spent.