Two Henrico women convicted of defrauding 84-year-old neighbor

Amber Woody

Two Henrico County women have been convicted of defrauding a well-meaning, elderly neighbor who feared one of the women was losing custody of her four children and who believed the other was a drug counselor.

Henrico Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Michael S. Huberman said the 84-year-old target lost in excess of $130,000 over several months to the women who befriended him in the West End Manor neighborhood and pleaded for money.

Richmond resident Crystal Marie Wells, 33, who played a minor role in the case posing as a drug counselor, was sentenced to serve eight months in jail Thursday. Her co-defendant, Amber Woody, 30, who lived across the street from the victim, was sentenced to seven years in prison last month, more than double the high end of sentencing guidelines.

The victim, who is not identified at his family’s request, had lived alone in the home where he’d lived for decades and raised a family.

Woody’s four children are now in foster care, Huberman said, an ironic twist to what Woody had claimed she needed money to avoid.

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Two Henrico women convicted of defrauding 84-year-old neighbor