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Man Bilked Elderly Woman, Pasco Deputies Say

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By TODD LESKANIC | The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 3, 2009

ZEPHYRHILLS - Pasco County sheriff's investigators are looking for a man they say bilked an 89-year-old woman out of $6,800.

The woman said she received a telephone call at her home Feb. 24 from a man who identified himself as an employee of her bank, the First National Bank of Pasco.

The caller said he was trying to catch an employee who was skimming money from the bank and needed her help. He told her to write a check to herself for $6,800 and go to the bank and cash it.

The caller told her to bring the cash to the parking lot of the Kmart at 7422 Gall Blvd., where she would meet with a second man who the caller said was a bank investigator. The caller said the cash would be used to bait the employee they suspected was taking money, the woman told authorities.

The woman told investigators she did as the caller asked and met with a man in the parking lot who showed her a gold oval-shaped badge. The man told her not to tell anyone about the transaction for two weeks. When she got home, the woman began to get suspicious and called the sheriff's office.

The woman described the man she met as a clean-shaven white male, about 5-foot-10, 200 pounds and 50 years old.

Anyone with information should call the sheriff's office at (727) 847-5878.

Reporter Todd Leskanic can be reached at (727) 815-1084 or tleskanic@tampatrib.com.

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