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| Matthew Roby, 55, pleaded no contest to a charge of exploiting an elderly person after being charged with stealing more than $3 million from Orlando resident Helen Kuhn (shown). (Photo courtesy of the Orange County Sheriff's Office) |
By Rebecca Turco
Matthew Roby, 55, is set to be sentenced Sept. 14. Roby took a plea deal in June, choosing not to contest a charge of exploiting an elderly person.
Orange County Sheriff's Office Detective Chris Williams said Roby stole more than $3 million from Helen Kuhn of Orlando, spending around $600,000 of it. Williams said the department was able to recover the rest of the stolen money.
Attorney Matthew Roby stole $3 MILLION from Helen Kuhn by fraudulently getting power of attorney & draining her accounts. Helen died June 8 at the age of 108.
— Orange County Sheriff's Office (@OrangeCoSheriff) June 24, 2022
Roby agreed to a plea today for Exploitation of Elderly & Grand Theft.
More: https://t.co/w8xubJefsC pic.twitter.com/VlosTiZJtd
“Mr. Roby had a lot of bank accounts, and so going through all of the records, you had to track down where the money was coming from, where the money was going to,” Williams explained. “And then from there, where it was going to again and to again. And that was his pattern.”
“It was almost like a little quasi-money laundering scheme he was running with all of his other accounts,” Williams added.
Kuhn, a retired teacher and pilot, died in June at the age of 108, just two weeks before Roby took the plea deal.
As part of the plea deal, the state dropped a grand theft charge and the judge will sentence Roby to no more than five years in prison. He is also on the hook to pay back more than $490,000.
Kuhn’s best friend, Wanda Jones of Orlando, said she wished Roby had received a harsher punishment.
“I hope he never, ever has the opportunity to take advantage of anyone else again,” she said. “I want to see him on probation for the rest of his life after he gets out."
Jones said she plans to attend Roby’s sentencing.
She described Kuhn, who she affectionately called “Miss Wanda,” as a close friend with a great sense of humor who became a mother figure, with their decades-apart age difference.
AARP has resources on how seniors can protect themselves against fraud. Anyone who believes they, or someone they know, are the victim of elder financial fraud, can call the AARP Fraud Helpline at 877-908-3360.
They can also call the National Elder Fraud Hotline at 833-FRAUD-11.
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