Ben Hill Co. couple charged in aunt’s elderly exploitation case

Ben Hill Co. couple charged in aunt's elderly exploitation case

By Alicia Lewis

FITZGERALD, Ga. (WALB) - A couple is facing over 375 warrants on bank fraud and exploitation of the elderly in Fitzgerald.

Herbert Johnson and his girlfriend, Cornisha Wilcox, are accused of taking advantage of Johnson’s elderly aunt, who is diagnosed with dementia. Reports also accuse them of stealing cash and making several attempts to withdraw large amounts of money from the aunt’s account.

The pair is accused of linking their online banks to the victim’s account and taking over $17,000 in cash and online transfers over the past few months. Pam Gonzales, daughter of the victim, says she trusted her cousin to look after her mother while she was away in Florida for work.

“I just felt like I was put on the spot to where he groomed her and also groomed me to make it to where I wasn’t aware of what was going on” Gonzales said.

According to an incident report from the Fitzgerald Police Department, a bank teller from Ameris Bank in Ocilla notified the police after the two attempted to make a $7,000 withdrawal from the victim’s account at the drive-through. The victim’s sister told WALB, this is just one of the many banks the two attempted to make withdrawals from.

“It hurt me to my heart for my child to do this to my sister. That’s my sister and I’m not going to vouch for him for doing wrong that’s wrong.” Irish Walters, sister of the victim, said.

On a separate report, it shows the two attempted to cash a $2,000 check with the victim’s name on it at both a Tifton and Douglas bank. On that same day, they traveled back to the Ameris Bank in Ocilla to try and cash another lump sum. This time, the report states Cornisha Wilcox’s mother attempted to forge the victim’s signature.

“The checks they tried to cash it was like four or five different signatures. None of them matched. The person at the bank knows my auntie personally, and went outside and said that wasn’t my auntie.” Dominique Phillips, the victim’s niece, said.

According to law enforcement, Wilcox was released from jail on Thursday on a $7,000 bond. Prior to these new allegations, Johnson was on a seven-year probation, so he’s still in the Ben Hill County Jail.

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Ben Hill Co. couple charged in aunt’s elderly exploitation case