Detectives say a Miami man kept cashing in on his missing mother's government benefits, even as authorities continued to search for her more than a year after she vanished from their Allapattah home.
Arrest and allegations
According to WPLG Local 10, investigators arrested 66-year-old Eduardo Lopez Hernandez at a gas station in Allapattah on Thursday. An arrest report cited by the station says he admitted disconnecting his mother's phone and using her government benefits to pay bills. Detectives estimated the total amount taken at about $18,600.
Missing since 2023
State missing-person records list Edis Lopez Collazo as last seen on April 6, 2023, from a home near Northwest 24th Avenue and Northwest 29th Street in Allapattah, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The Miami Herald previously reported that Lopez Collazo, who has Alzheimer's disease, was unaccounted for at the time and that her son had circulated flyers and asked the public for help.
Criminal history
State corrections records show Lopez Hernandez was sentenced in 2001 on burglary, cocaine possession and counterfeit-plate charges, and that he was released from state custody on July 25, 2005, according to the Florida Department of Corrections. The offender file lists multiple prior incarcerations and aliases tied to the same DC number.
Charges and bond
WPLG Local 10 reports that detectives charged Lopez Hernandez with aggravated abuse of an elderly person or disabled adult. A separate warrant, the station notes, lists organized fraud, theft from the elderly, identification fraud and public assistance fraud. Booking records cited by the outlet show he was processed at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, with bond set at $62,500.
Legal implications
Under Florida law, aggravated abuse of an elderly person or disabled adult is a serious felony that covers certain forms of abuse, neglect and exploitation of vulnerable adults. The statute defines different types of conduct and lays out penalties that can increase based on the severity of the alleged abuse. Those provisions are detailed in section 825.102 of the Florida Statutes.
How to report tips
Anyone with information about the case or about Lopez Collazo's whereabouts is asked to contact Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477 or submit a tip online via Crime Stoppers of Miami-Dade. The program says tips can be submitted anonymously and offers both a toll-free phone line and a web form.
The arrest has revived difficult questions about how well families and benefit systems safeguard older residents with dementia. Detectives say the investigation remains active and are asking anyone with details about Lopez Collazo or related financial activity to come forward.
