Fort Myers woman gets 5-year prison term in senior citizen exploitation case

by Michael Braun

Cynthia Gunn Speed

A Fort Myers woman is headed to prison for more than five years in a case of exploitation of senior citizens.

Cynthia Gunn Speed, 63, was also given 10 years of probation on Monday for two counts of exploiting elderly or disabled persons. She was found guilty in April following a trial in Lee County.

Court documents said Speed exploited two elderly victims by deceiving them into deeding her their property in 2019. She told the pair the document they were signing was an immigration document to benefit workers on a renovation project of the property.

The Lee County Sheriff’s Office Economic Crimes Unit investigated the case and an investigator with the Florida Department of Children and Families, family members of the victims, and two doctors, one for each victim, testified at trial.

Testimony included evidence that the victims would not have been able to understand what they were signing.

In court, an order was also issued directing that the unlawful deed be cancelled and the property be returned to the rightful owner. Restitution was also ordered for the payment of the outstanding taxes on the property.

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Fort Myers woman gets 5-year prison term in senior citizen exploitation case