Inna Vladimirovna Cook Faces Eight Felony Counts of Theft, Fraud, and Money Laundering
By Tyler Hayden
 |
| Inna Vladimirovna Cook, left, and Jane Doe in November 2022 | Credit: Courtesy
|
For many years, Jane Doe lived an accomplished yet solitary life. A
brilliant research scientist, she received a medal in 1969 for helping
put a man on the moon and in 1974 moved to Santa Barbara to pursue a
career in defense technology. She held senior positions that required
high-level government clearances, most recently at Applied Research
Associates in Goleta, and worked long hours, even into her eighties. “We
never knew exactly what she did, but we knew she was a workaholic,”
said Doe’s sister, Gayle Aruta.
The other focus of Doe’s life was serving on the board of the
homeowner association that manages her condominium complex off Modoc
Road. She was an active member for two decades and took pride in making
the small community a pleasant place to live. So, when Doe suffered a
perforated bowel in 2022 that required a long stay in Cottage Hospital’s
ICU, a fellow boardmember ― 61-year-old Russian national Inna
Vladimirovna Cook, who also shared Doe’s love of cats and houseplants ―
offered to help her get back on her feet.
Eighteen months later, on February 5, 2025, Santa Barbara authorities
raided the home that Doe and Cook shared and discovered Doe, hungry and
thirsty, lying under a deflated air mattress. “They found her alone
essentially starving, eating only oranges and tomatoes, which are both
high in potassium, which damaged her kidneys,” court documents state.
Officials soon discovered Doe had recently signed possession of her
condo, cars, cash, and investments ― assets worth more than $3 million ―
over to Cook.
Police arrested Cook and prosecutors charged her with eight felony
counts of elder abuse, theft, and money laundering. At a court hearing
later this month, she will likely face additional charges and
enhancements. Cook, currently out on bail, has pleaded not guilty and
could not be reached for comment. Her attorney declined to discuss the
case. Cook has also been hit with a civil lawsuit filed by Doe’s family
that seeks substantial damages. As a victim, Doe asked that her identity
remain private.
From the moment they met, Aruta had a bad
feeling about Cook. “I realized within seconds of meeting her that there
is something wrong with this woman,” Aruta said of their first
encounter after Doe was discharged from the hospital and getting settled
back home. “I did not like her,” she said. “But my sister said she was a
friend, so I gave it grace.”
Aruta accused Cook of “worming” her way into Doe’s mind when she was
sick and weak, slowly but surely cutting her off from the few people in
her life and taking control of her finances. Doe, 84 years old, was
always a shy and submissive person, Aruta said, and her convalescence
made her even more vulnerable. “She was a sitting duck,” Aruta said. “A
perfect mark.”
The “brainwashing” process was gradual, Aruta alleged, but the
warning signs started early. It began with Doe canceling plans more than
once with Aruta, who then started receiving odd emails from Doe that
she suspected were written by Cook. Aruta, who lives in San Diego,
became so worried that she called for a wellness check on her sister,
but when the police knocked on her door, Doe said she was fine.
After that, Aruta received an angry email, supposedly written by Doe,
telling Aruta to stay out of her life. “My sister is especially
nonconfrontational, and that email was very confrontational,” Aruta
said. Over the next few months, Aruta and Doe’s neighbors called in six
more welfare checks, but each time authorities responded they couldn’t
find sufficient reason to act.
“The police need probable cause to break down a door ― a body, an
injury, a call for help ― and social workers can’t enter a home without
the police,” Aruta explained. “That’s why this took so long. Cook was so
good at walking that line of evading probable cause.” Aruta wondered
though, if seven calls for a single individual, especially if that
person is ill and elderly, should prompt more aggressive action. “The
synergy of all those calls should be met with a heightened response,”
she said.
Then, Doe disappeared. Aruta drove north and found her condo empty.
She filed a missing person report, put up flyers, and inquired at the
coroner’s office, but learned nothing. It was only when Cook was
arrested for DUI after crashing into a tree on Las Positas Road that
detectives discovered she had moved Doe to another property that she had
purchased with Doe’s money, and which was dead-bolted from the inside.
That’s where they found Doe “drugged, malnourished, and suffering other
health issues,” the lawsuit states.
 |
| Authorities discovered a dehydrated and malnourished Jane Doe under a deflated air mattress | Credit: Courtesy |
Just 48 hours after being rescued, “my sister said it was like her
mind had been cleared of a fog,” Aruta said. “She knows what that woman
did to her,” calling Cook a “predator” and “a lying liar who loves to
lie.” This Christmas, Doe sent a letter to an investigator that thanked
him for saving her life. She now lives in an assisted living facility at
a location Aruta would rather keep confidential because the family is
still scared of Cook, who also owns property in Naples, Florida. “We
don’t know how far her tentacles reach,” Aruta said.
Doe’s family has since recovered some of her assets, but are still
fighting for $1 million in investments and cash that remains missing,
$150,000 of which Cook allegedly spent on gold, lingerie, and large
Amazon orders. She also accrued more than $600,000 in tax penalties and
interest from the sudden liquidation of Doe’s stock holdings. “We want
justice, which means incarceration and restitution,” Aruta said.
Officials have put a lis pendens on Cook’s Calle de los Amigos home, which prevents her from selling it.
The silver lining to the otherwise awful experience is that Doe, once
isolated in her work, is now meeting new people, making friends, and
reconnecting with family. A couple of men have also shown interest.
“She’s safe now,” Aruta said. “She has new stories to tell, and that’s
healthy.”
The case is being prosecuted by Senior Deputy District Attorney Brian
Cota, who specializes in white-collar and elder abuse crimes, and who
frequently secures stiff prison sentences for offenders. The next
hearing is January 26 in Santa Barbara Superior Court.
Full Article & Source:
Woman Accused of Conning Elderly Santa Barbara Scientist Out of Her Home, Cars, and $3 Million in Assets
