A federal judge has sentenced a mother and daughter for their roles in an elder fraud scheme, according to an announcement from U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona.
U.S. District Court Judge Anna M. Manasco sentenced Mykia L. Henderson, 32, of Moody, to 87 months in prison and Cynthia H. Mixon, 50, of Fairfield, to 57 months in prison. Both defendants pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
Court documents show that between December 2020 and February 2022, Mixon and Henderson worked as in-home caretakers for an elderly victim. During this period, they accessed the victim’s financial information and shared it with each other as well as other conspirators. They set up fraudulent accounts through Square, Inc. and Stripe, Inc., then used these platforms to charge the victim’s credit cards before transferring the funds into their own bank accounts or dividing the proceeds among themselves.
To conceal their actions from the victim, the defendants provided false descriptions on transactions and also wrote unauthorized checks drawn on the victim’s accounts. The total amount stolen was nearly $500,000.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Mountain Brook Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Ryan S. Rummage prosecuted the case.
“Reporting from consumers about fraud and fraud attempts is critical to law enforcements’ efforts to investigate and prosecute schemes targeting older adults. If you or someone you know is age 60 or older and has been a victim of financial fraud, help is available at the National Elder Fraud Hotline: 1-833 FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311). This Department of Justice Hotline, managed by the Office for Victims of Crime, is staffed by experienced professionals who provide personalized support to callers by assessing the needs of the victim and identifying next steps. The hotline is staffed seven days a week from 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. [ET]. English, Spanish and other languages are available. More information about the Department’s elder justice efforts can be found on the Department’s Elder Justice website,” said officials.
More information about federal elder justice initiatives can be found at www.elderjustice.gov.
