July 11, 2010
Gary Davidson
Public Information Officer

CAREGIVER ACCUSED OF STEALING FROM 71-YEAR-OLD PATIENT

Volusia County Sheriff’s deputies have arrested a DeLand woman accused of stealing belongings from an ailing 71-year-old man she was caring for and then trying to sell some of his property back to the victim.

Deputies were first dispatched to the victim’s home near DeLand on Monday. The man, who’s suffering from heart problems, is undergoing chemotherapy and needs the aid of a cane to get around, said he hired 44-year-old Cynthia Cardenas to help around the house. After a week, the victim said he fired Cardenas because her work wasn’t satisfactory. Shortly after firing her, the victim contacted the Sheriff’s Office when he noticed that some of his property -- including about $950 worth of jewelry and a coffee maker -- was missing. When the deputy located Cardenas at another address in DeLand and questioned her, she claimed that she left voluntarily because she wasn’t getting paid. She also said the victim was infatuated with her and had given her the property as gifts in an effort to win her heart. Due to their age difference, Cardenas told the deputy that she wasn’t romantically interested in the victim. But when the deputy then asked why she had accepted the gifts, Cardenas didn’t have an answer. She then voluntarily turned over the property to the deputy, who filed a felony complaint affidavit charging Cardenas with grand theft and returned the property to the victim. The complaint affidavit has been forwarded to the State Attorney’s Office.

On Friday, the same deputy who took the earlier report was dispatched back to the victim’s house. When he got there, the victim was on the phone with Cardenas. She told the victim that for $75, he could have his cell phone back. So the deputy told the victim to arrange the transaction. While the deputy watched from an adjacent wooded area, Cardenas drove up about an hour later. As it turned out, she didn’t have the phone with her and claimed that the victim had loaned it to her. The deputy didn’t buy the explanation, and wrote in his report: “….It appeared Cardenas attempted to utilize some of the stolen property from the earlier documented incident….to extort $75” from the victim. Meanwhile, the victim became so overwrought that paramedics had to be called to the scene to provide medical care. After interviewing two other people in the car and determining they weren’t involved, deputies arrested Cardenas on charges of grand theft and elderly abuse.