Newlywed, 26, arrested for fraud after she tries to cash $1 million check from 77-year-old husband's account
In a twisted case of fraud, a newly married Israeli woman has been arrested after she tried to cash almost a million dollars from her 77-year-old husband's bank account, Tampa Bay Times reported.
26-year-old Lin Helena Halfon was nabbed by the police at the Tampa International Airport earlier this month and has been charged with money laundering, organized fraud, and exploitation of an elderly person.
The chain of events started on November 7, after Halfon walked into an Amscot branch and tried to cash in a check for a million dollars. She claimed that her husband, Richard Rappaport, who is a businessman wanted to buy them a yacht in Miami. However, his name was also there on the check and because he was absent at the time, they refused to provide their services. She then brought in three checks of $333,333 each and tried to get the money.
The bank employees still refused to give her the money but became suspicious of her behavior and called the cops. She also reportedly told the company that she would pay them $100,000 to do the transaction. When asked about Rappaport’s whereabouts, Halfon said he was out of the country.
At first, her husband did not want her deported and believed that she would return the money. She had claimed to investigators that she and her husband had a fight and that she had sent the money to her sister in a care package in Israel. According to an affidavit, she had said that she did not work and that he supported her and that she had made an attempt to hide the money but would give it back. However, two of the checks worth $666,666 were cashed in New Jersey by a man with an Orlando address, when they were supposed to be out of the country.
His name has not been released as it is unclear if he has been charged. He is believed to have been an accomplice of Halfon's.
Rappaport's daughter Dayna Titus allegedly told investigators that the family had not even been aware of the marriage. "Titus believed that Halfon was 'conning' Rappaport due to his age," FDLE Special Agent Victoria Morris wrote in the affidavit, reported the Times.
During her first court appearance, a judge set her bail at $1 million.