A New York woman was arrested Friday after allegedly stealing more than $250,000 from her elderly landlady.
Over the course of nearly three years, Nahtahna Castner, 45, allegedly gained the trust of her landlady, who is in her mid-90s. Castner lived on one side of the landlady's duplex in Rochester, while she lived on the other side.
After some time, Castner was able to steal the victim's personal ID and banking information, and withdrew large amounts of cash from ATMs, according to the Western District of New York U.S. Attorney's Office. She also allegedly conducted wire transfers to her own personal account and used the victim's debit card without permission.
The criminal complaint stated that Castner stole more than $252,600 from two different banking institutions. Castner also allegedly used her landlady's personal information to apply for three credit cards, defrauding three other institutions out of more than $3,600.
Castner allegedly used the money to pay for hotels, car repairs, insurance and even travel, including a trip to Hawaii.
In January 2022, the landlady became hospitalized. When her family was notified days later, they arrived to find Castner referring to herself as the woman's granddaughter. At the time, the family believed Castner had been trying to help, and offered to pay her, to which Castner declined and said she did so "out of the kindness of her heart," according to the complaint.
The victim's son ended up trying to go to the bank anyway to withdraw some money, which is when he discovered that she only had about $99 left in her account. Castner reportedly moved out of the duplex immediately after, and did not speak with the victim's family again.
Before the victim passed away on Feb. 23, 2023, she allegedly told the son that the missing money must have been "Tana," according to the complaint.
Castner has been charged with wire fraud, bank fraud and aggravated identity theft. She faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine.
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