Naples woman sentenced for exploiting elderly couple

By Taylor Daugherty

NAPLES, Florida — A 69-year-old woman has been sentenced to prison for financially exploiting an elderly couple in Naples, stealing over $100,000 in jewelry, cash, and a car. 

Lynn Marie Keller was sentenced to 10 years in prison followed by five years of probation, with special conditions, by Collier County Circuit Judge Elizabeth Krier.

Keller was ordered to pay $112,000 in restitution after a jury found her guilty of nine counts of exploitation of the elderly following a weeklong trial last December. The charges stem from incidents reported in 2019 when the Collier County Sheriff's Office (CCSO) discovered that jewelry, a car, and personal banking documents had been stolen from an 81-year-old woman in hospice care and her 87-year-old husband in a skilled nursing facility.

Detectives traced the crimes to Keller, who forged the female victim's name on a new Kia Sorrento, transferring the title to herself as a gift while the victim was in a coma. Keller also transferred funds from the couple's account to her own and forged checks in their names. 

The investigation revealed transactions made by Keller using a power of attorney and the couple's joint banking accounts.

Upon the female victim's death, Keller took items from the couple's house and fled the area, instructing a friend of the victim not to inform the son of his mother's passing. 

Keller was arrested in 2021 on a CCSO warrant after being located in Monroe County. "Thanks to excellent investigative work by our detectives and a successful prosecution by our State Attorney's Office, this individual is going to prison where she won't be able to prey on vulnerable members of our community," Sheriff Kevin Rambosk said.

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Naples woman sentenced for exploiting elderly couple