A Miami man has been charged with the alleged exploitation of his disabled elderly neighbor after authorities claim he drained her finances and took over her condo. Nilo Somoano, 62, is now facing first-degree felony charges which include theft from a person 65 or older, exploitation of the elderly, and an organized scheme to defraud—each valued at more than $50,000, according to Local 10 News.
The Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office confirmed the arrest, with State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle detailing the charges. "The economic exploitation of our elder residents is almost always a cold-hearted plot to deprive a person of the benefits of a lifetime of hard work and thoughtful financial planning," Fernandez Rundle said. "Using a person’s mental and physical fragilities as a means to steal everything from them is the type of crime neither I nor the investigators and staff of the State Attorney’s Office Elder and Vulnerable Adult Unit will tolerate. Crimes like those outlined in our arrest warrant should be an alarm for all of us who are concerned for the well-being of our elder population," she further emphasized in a statement obtained by NBC Miami.
Investigators reported that the victim, an 89-year-old woman, suffered from severe mental and physical impairments and had required full-time care since at least 2015. She passed away on October 16, 2021, but not before Somoano, her neighbor at Miami's Half Moon Towers since 2006, allegedly managed to obtain power of attorney over her. This move reportedly allowed him to control her finances and consequently misappropriate them.
Records indicate that Somoano transferred ownership of the woman's condo to himself while she still lived there, and went on to deplete her $600,000 estate on personal expenses. According to reports, he used the victim’s financial accounts to unjustly benefit himself, including sending nearly $14,000 to his wife for cremation services for his brother and godmother, along with purchases at major retailers like Costco and Home Depot. "None of the services or items purchased could have helped the woman, who spent her last days residing in an adult living facility," as stated by authorities in further detail obtained by NBC Miami.
