Latest news with #Cohen-Roth
Miami Herald
13-05-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
Friend stole 73-year-old's life savings, left her ‘destitute,' CA officials say
A retired Internal Revenue Service agent is accused of stealing her friend's life savings in a scheme, California prosecutors said. Elana Cohen-Roth, 81, of Marina Del Rey was sentenced to 12 years in state prison in relation to a yearslong scheme, the Sonoma County District Attorney's Office said in a May 9 news release. 'The victim's years of hard work and lifetime savings are gone due to Ms. Cohen-Roth's greed,' District Attorney Carla Rodriguez said in the release. 'Unfortunately, the victim will never be made whole financially and her life is forever impacted.' Attorney information for Cohen-Roth was not immediately available. Years of 'investments' Cohen-Roth is accused of stealing from the Sonoma County woman over a seven-year period, prosecutors said. In 2013, Cohen-Roth, 'a retired IRS agent and professional tax preparer,' was working on the woman's taxes, prosecutors said. 'They quickly became good friends,' prosecutors said. Through their relationship, both personally and professionally, Cohen-Roth got access to the woman's financial information, prosecutors said. She told her friend 'that while her investments were making some money, she could earn far more by investing with her,' according to prosecutors. Cohen-Roth offered to invest her friend's money in a real estate deal — one that would 'earn at least 10% interest at 'no risk,'' prosecutors said. Given Cohen-Roth's position and their friendship, the woman 'completely trusted' the financial advice, prosecutors said. Cohen-Roth's 'investment opportunities' continued, and the woman agreed to 20 'investments,' according to prosecutors. The ''investments' ranged from $25,000 to $150,000 each and all carried the same promise of at least 10% interest at 'no risk,'' prosecutors said. With each incident, the woman liquidated her investments, then wired money to Cohen-Roth, thinking her money was being invested, prosecutors said. Bank records reveal scheme Cohen-Roth's bank records, however, showed otherwise, prosecutors said. She was instead 'running a sophisticated Ponzi scheme,' wherein 'investors' deposited large sums of money into her bank account, according to prosecutors. Cohen-Roth used some of the woman's money to pay those who 'invested' with her earlier, prosecutors said. She 'used the rest to support her lavish lifestyle and make gifts to family members,' prosecutors said. After the friend depleted all her investments by September 2019, she 'took out a reverse mortgage to send additional money to Cohen-Roth,' prosecutors said. Scheme falls apart When the friend demanded some of her money back so she could relocate near family in 2020, 'Cohen-Roth's Ponzi scheme collapsed,' prosecutors said. With no money to pay her friend, 'the entire scheme fell apart,' according to prosecutors. None of the woman's money was ever returned to her, prosecutors said. 'The then 73-year-old victim went from owning her own home and having around $1,000,000 in investments to live on, to being financially destitute,' prosecutors said. The woman couldn't afford daily living expenses, 'while Elana Cohen-Roth lived comfortably on the victim's money,' prosecutors said. The scheme left the woman 'devastated financially and emotionally,' prosecutors said. 'The discovery that her dear and trusted friend turned out to be a con-artist who was just using her to satisfy her own greed was heart-wrenching,' prosecutors said. A jury convicted Cohen-Roth of 23 felony financial fraud charges after a three-week long trial, prosecutors said. Because of her age, Cohen-Roth was given a 12-year prison sentence, as opposed to a maximum term of 28 years, according to prosecutors.
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Yahoo
Retired IRS agent imprisoned for bilking elderly California woman of life savings
SONOMA COUNTY, Calif. (KRON) — An 81-year-old retired IRS agent from Southern California was sentenced to 12 years in state prison Friday for conning an elderly woman in Sonoma County out of her entire life savings during a seven-year period. The perpetrator, 81-year-old Elana Cohen-Roth of Marina Del Rey, was found guilty of 23 felony offenses related to the scam, Sonoma County District Attorney Carla Rodriguez's office announced in a press release. 'The victim's years of hard work and lifetime savings are gone due to Ms. Cohen-Roth's greed,' Rodriguez stated. 'Unfortunately, the victim will never be made whole financially and her life is forever impacted. The judge's sentence is entirely appropriate and hopefully will provide some measure of justice for the victim.' Video: Coyote seen digging up grave at California cemetery Cohen-Roth, who also worked as a tax professional, first prepared the victim's taxes in 2013. After befriending the victim, Cohen-Roth gained access to her financial information. From December 2013 to September 2019, Cohen-Roth extended 'investment opportunities' to her on more than 20 different occasions, the district attorney's office said. During this time, the victim gave Cohen-Roth amounts ranging from $25,000 to $150,000 for presumed investments. 'Cohen-Roth told the victim that while her investments were making some money, she could earn far more by investing with her,' a press release from the DA's office reads. 'Cohen-Roth told the victim she would invest it in some type of real estate deal where she could earn at least 10% interest at 'no risk.' Based on Cohen-Roth's credentials and their friendship, the victim completely trusted Cohen-Roth's financial advice.' Cohen-Roth's bank records showed that she was running a sophisticated Ponzi scheme with other 'investors' who also deposited large sums into her account, the DA's office said. Cohen-Roth used a portion of the victim's money to pay off the earlier 'investors' and used the rest to fund a 'lavish lifestyle' and give gifts to her family. By September of 2019, Cohen-Roth had spent all of the money put into her nefarious investment accounts and took out a reverse mortgage on her home. The Ponzi scheme collapsed in 2020, when the victim demanded a return on her investments so she could move closer to her family. 'Because Cohen-Roth did not have another source to pay the victim with, the entire scheme fell apart, and the victim did not receive any of her money back,' the DA's office said. 'The then 73-year-old victim went from owning her own home and having around $1 million in investments to live on, to being financially destitute. The elderly victim was unable to pay for her minimal daily living expenses while Elana Cohen-Roth lived comfortably on the victim's money.' A Sonoma County jury convicted Cohen-Roth of all 23 felony financial fraud charges brought against her. Because of Cohen-Roth's age, Sonoma County Judge Paige Hein sentenced her to 12 years in prison instead of the maximum sentence of 28 years. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
San Francisco Chronicle
10-05-2025
- San Francisco Chronicle
Tax preparer sentenced for defrauding Bay Area woman of life savings
An 81-year-old retired IRS agent has been sentenced to 12 years in prison after a Sonoma County jury convicted her of systematically defrauding a woman of her life savings. While working as a professional tax preparer, former IRS agent Elana Cohen-Roth befriended a client, a 66-year-old Sonoma County woman, according to a news release from the Sonoma County District Attorney's Office about the case. After gaining access to the victim's financial information, Cohen-Roth told her that she could get better returns on her investments by entrusting the tax preparer with the money, promising she would invest it in real estate deals that would provide reliable, 'no risk' returns of 10% or more. From December 2013 to September 2019, Cohen-Roth pitched 'investment opportunities' to the victim more than 20 times, in amounts ranging from $25,000 to $150,000 each. Each time, the victim liquidated investments and sent the resulting funds to Cohen-Roth, who she believed was investing the money on her behalf. Instead, prosecutors ultimately discovered that Cohen-Roth was running 'a sophisticated Ponzi scheme' where she used the victim's money to pay off dividends to other people who she'd entrapped in the same scheme. Cohen-Roth also used the funds to support a lavish lifestyle and make gifts to family members, prosecutors said. By September 2019, Cohen-Roth had bilked the victim of all of her investments and persuaded her to take a reverse mortgage on her home, prosecutors said. The Ponzi scheme collapsed in 2020 when the victim asked for some of the money back so that she could move to be near family. With no other victims, Cohen-Roth couldn't pay the woman back, and 'the entire scheme fell apart,' according to the DA's office. Then 73 years old, the victim went from owning her own home and investments of about $1 million to being financially destitute and unable to pay for her minimal daily living expenses even as Cohen-Roth had lived comfortably on her money, prosecutors said. The victim was devastated financially and emotionally by Cohen-Roth's deceit: The discovery that her trusted friend turned out to be a con artist who was just using her to satisfy her own greed was heart-wrenching, prosecutors said. After a three-week trial, a Sonoma County jury convicted Cohen-Roth of 23 felony financial fraud charges, which could have carried a sentence of up to 28 years in prison. Judge Paige Hein handed down a 12-year sentence Friday due to Cohen-Roth's advanced age, but acknowledged the severe harm her behavior caused to the victim's physical and emotional health, according to the DA's office. District Attorney Carla Rodriguez, in a statement, called the sentence 'entirely appropriate' and said she hopes it will provide some sense of justice to the victim. 'The victim's years of hard work and lifetime savings are gone due to Ms. Cohen-Roth's greed,' Rodriguez said. 'Unfortunately, the victim will never be made whole financially and her life is forever impacted.' The Sonoma County Public Defender's Office, which represented Cohen-Roth, was not available for comment Saturday morning.
CBS News
14-03-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Former IRS agent found guilty in Ponzi scheme targeting elderly Santa Rosa woman
A Southern California woman was found guilty Thursday of defrauding an elderly Santa Rosa woman of more than $1.5 million in an elaborate Ponzi scheme, authorities said. Elana Cohen-Roth, 80, a former Internal Revenue Service field agent who worked as a tax professional in the Los Angeles area, was charged with money laundering and financial elder abuse in Sonoma County Superior Court. A 73-year-old Santa Rosa woman first alerted police in December 2020, saying she had believed she was investing in "lucrative high-yielding investment opportunities," making 24 transfers to Cohen-Roth between 2013 and 2019 totaling over $1.5 million. The victim took out a reverse mortgage on her home to keep investing with Cohen-Roth and eventually wound up more than $270,000 in debt, according to Santa Rosa police. The victim asked for her investments to be liquidated, but Cohen-Roth's "demeanor and communications" raised suspicions, and police were notified. In January 2021, detectives found evidence of the financial abuse after serving several search warrants at Cohen-Roth's home and place of business in Southern California. At the time, Cohen-Roth, a former IRS field agent and IRS tax auditor, was working as an enrolled agent and tax return practitioner in Los Angeles. Over the next year, Santa Rosa police detectives served more search warrants, audited financial records, and combed through mountains of evidence to uncover the Santa Rosa victim's financial loss. The investigation revealed other suspected victims, living in other cities. It's suspected that Cohen-Roth took in over $4.8 million from numerous victims over the course of the scheme, according to Santa Rosa police. Cohen-Roth was arrested by Santa Rosa detectives, with help from the Los Angeles Police Department, on Jan. 18, 2022, at her home in Marina del Rey. Cohen-Roth was booked Jan. 24, 2022 at the Sonoma County Jail, but was released on bail three days later. She remained out of custody until the end of her 2025 jury trial. Following her guilty verdict, Cohen-Roth was immediately remanded into custody, on charges of 20 counts of felony financial elder abuse, three counts of felony money laundering and one count of felony aggravated white-collar crime.
Yahoo
14-03-2025
- Yahoo
Santa Rosa woman cheated out of $1.5M in ‘elderly' Ponzi scheme: PD
(KRON) — Santa Rosa police said an 80-year-old Los Angeles woman was found guilty on 24 felony charges tied to an 'elaborate Ponzi scheme targeting the elderly community.' One of the victims included a Santa Rosa woman who was tricked out of $1.5 million, said police. Women with fake San Francisco childcare center swindled $500K in welfare: DA Elana Cohen-Roth, who was arrested for the alleged crimes back in 2022, was sentenced Thursday by a Sonoma County Superior Court after a three-week long trial. Cohen-Roth, a former IRS Field Agent and IRS Tax Auditor, was working as an enrolled agent and tax return practitioner in LA, when the financial abuse occurred, according to authorities. Police said the unidentified Santa Rosa victim was duped into thinking she was funding 'lucrative high-yielding investment opportunities.' She made 24 transfers to Cohen-Roth between 2013 and 2019 that amassed to more than $1.5 million, said police. The woman was eventually forced to take a reverse mortgage on her home, so she could continue 'investing' with Cohen-Roth. Before long, she was $270,000 in debt. It was when the victim ran out of money and asked for her investments to be liquidated that 'the suspect's demeanor and communications raised suspicions,' which led to Santa Rosa detectives being alerted. Investigators believe that Cohen-Roth took in more than $4.8 million from 'numerous' victims in the scheme's duration. In January 2022, Cohen-Roth was arrested by Santa Rosa Police Property Crimes Investigators in conjunction with Los Angeles police at her Marina del Ray home. She was ultimately released on bail and remained out of custody until her trial concluded. After her guilty verdict, Cohen-Roth was ordered back into custody for several charges, including: 20 counts of felony financial elder abuse 3 counts of felony money laundering 1 count of felony aggravated white-collar crime Santa Rosa police wrote in a Facebook post, 'The Santa Rosa Police Department extends its gratitude to the members of the jury in this trial for their time, service and dedication to the pursuit of justice. We would also like to thank the Sonoma County District Attorney's Office for their diligence and commitment throughout this case.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
