Con artist who bilked elderly widower jailed 4 years, fined $210,000
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Serial fraudster Elena Faini who cleaned out an elderly widower’s life savings and almost cost him his house has been sentenced to four years in prison.
Faini “preyed upon lonely widower Raffaele Aquino, taking advantage of a vulnerable man who was suffering from dementia and the loss of his wife of 52 years,” Justice Jane Kelly said Friday.
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She also fined 63-year-old Faini $210,900. If Faini fails to pay the sum after serving her sentence, she’ll face another two years or three years in jail.
Faini has a prior conviction for fraud for ripping off another victim for more than $200,000 in 2012. She was sentenced to 225 days and ordered to make restitution of $241,500.
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She also breached the Psychology Act by posing as a psychologist on a CHIN radio talk show in 2006 and taking $70,000 in fees from a patient.
Faini pleaded guilty to fraud over $5,000 in November for the latest crime. She has already spent the equivalent of 15 months in jail.
Faini offered to clean Aquino’s Toronto house. Instead, she buried a humble, hard-working Italian immigrant in debts through her larceny.
Before he met Faini in 2013 — two years after his wife Carmella died — Aquino owned his house outright and had more than $64,000 in savings. His one credit card balance was $11.
In a chance meeting, Aquino found Faini in a Portuguese cafe in his Rogers Rd.-Keele St. neighbourhood. At the time, she advertised herself as a housekeeper in a local newspaper.
Kelly said Faini stole more than $200,000 from the modest factory foreman by placing three mortgages on his house, totalling $311,900, from private lenders, between August 2016 and June 2017.
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Faini’s spending spree left Aquino with eight maxed out credit cards, totalling $35,000 in outstanding debts.
Aquino’s adult children, Frank and Angie, became suspicious of Faini, who frequented their dad’s home in 2016. The children hired a private investigator in 2017 who discovered Faini’s fraudulent past.
“We took some comfort that justice prevailed,” said Aquino’s daughter, Angie, 57.
“There are so many vulnerable seniors in our society and it’s important for family and friends to be vigilant against these sociopaths who’ll take advantage of them,” added Angie Aquino.
“Our father’s house is still at risk and we are still fighting with a private lender over a fraudulent mortgage (placed by Faini).”
spazzano@postmedia.com
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