Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg Jr. announced the conviction of a building superintendent, Rosalind Hernandez, who was found guilty of grand larceny for stealing more than $350,000 from a centenarian for whom she acted as Power of Attorney. Hernandez, 57, was convicted on all counts by a New York State Supreme Court jury yesterday, according to the Manhattan District Attorney's Office. She is set to be sentenced on March 11.
After befriending an elderly resident of a Chelsea apartment building, Hernandez was entrusted with his finances, exploiting his advanced age and lack of English proficiency. Over a period starting from July 26, 2023, to June 2, 2024, while her victim was with his family recuperating from a serious fall, Hernandez exploited her access. According to District Attorney Bragg, "Rosalind Hernandez stands convicted by a jury of her peers for abusing the trust of a 100-year-old, hardworking New Yorker to steal over half of his life savings as his Power of Attorney." She not only wrote checks to unknown third parties but also used the man's debit and credit cards for personal expenditures, including the funding of her own Lyft account, as evidenced during the trip, as per the Manhattan District Attorney's Office.
The theft came to light when the man, who miraculously recovered from his injuries, returned to New York, finding his furniture missing and his life savings halved. Hernandez had ceased paying maintenance on his apartment, leading to further financial disarray for the victim. The sudden rupture of financial security, a bedrock for any in their twilight years, highlights a society still grappling with the vulnerability of its elders and the wolves often sheathed in the guise of caretakers who would prey upon them.
Assistant D.A. Raphaelle Monty, Deputy Chief of the Elder Abuse Unit, spearheads the prosecution with the oversight of others in leadership positions within the office. Hernandez's actions, detailed at trial, reveal how she personally enriched herself at the expense of a man whose trust she cultivated and subsequently shattered. During the investigation, her charges included purchasing items as varied as lingerie and funding an entrepreneurship training program—acts that served no purpose for the victim, only for Hernandez and her own kin.
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