A South Carolina man allegedly duped an elderly widow into believing she suffered from dementia so he could steal nearly $30,000 from her to buy himself a pickup truck, deputies say.
Justin Ray Donaldson, 35, has been charged with breach of trust – $10,000 or more, the Anderson County Sheriff's Office announced Tuesday.
It's unclear if he entered a plea.
Donaldson allegedly "established a relationship with the 73-year-old woman similar to that of a grandson" after meeting her at a senior living facility in Anderson County, South Carolina, where she would partake in classes and activities, the sheriff's office said.
After her husband died, Donaldson allegedly "pounced" and convinced the woman she had dementia. He purportedly instructed her to remove her daughters as powers of attorney over her affairs and instead assign the role to him, giving him access to her trust and bank accounts.
"The feather in the cap of this scheming plot is that Donaldson instructed her to take out a home equity loan for 'home repairs,' and instead bought a $28,525 2015 Chevrolet Tahoe for himself," the sheriff's office wrote.
The SUV was confiscated earlier this month when the victim reported fraud.
Donaldson was released earlier this week on $10,000 bond.
