Police say a San Jose bank manager and her husband siphoned nearly $1 million from a 96-year-old’s life savings to buy expensive jewelry, luxury cars, a timeshare and cosmetic lip surgery.
Christine and Jimmy Bray are facing arraignment on felony elder theft charges. The pair is accused of cozying up to the victim then withdrawing $997,996.06 from his bank account between late August and early November.
Christine is a manager at a JP Morgan Chase Bank branch in San Jose. The victim banked at Chase, and told police he never authorized any withdrawals and thought he was signing for rental receipt deposits.
Authorities told the Mercury News that most of the money was transferred to Comerica bank. It was there that the transfers caught the eye of a fraud investigator, who, along with a relative of the victim, tipped police that something was up.
Jimmy Bray’s smartphone was reportedly full of photos of some of the jewelry the couple purchased, including a diamond-encrusted necklace spelling out “THA FINGA.”
Police fingered the Brays after the couple drove up to the victim’s house in their brand new Mercedes S550 while police were there. The pair were arrested on the spot and are facing prison time if convicted.
More than half of the man’s money has been recovered, along with much of the bling.
Last modified December 26, 2011 9:45 pm
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