New England Wife Steals $600,000 From Husband She Convinced Had Alzheimer's

A Connecticut woman is accused of defrauding her husband out of $600,000 during a span of more than 20 years after convincing him he had Alzehimer's Disease.

Donna Marino, 63, was charged with first-degree larceny and third-degree forgery, WFSB.com reports.

Police said Donna controlled her husband's finances as far back as 1999. The man's daughter, Elena, told WFSB that her father and Donna were officially married in 2009.

Elena said she noticed her father's credit score dropped significantly in 2019 and she became suspicious of Donna.

“I went on the town of East Haven and I saw there was a tax lien on his house. So, I tried to get in touch with my dad, but she had my dad’s phone being rerouted to her phone,” said Elena.

Police told WFSB they initially received a complaint from the man about his wife in March 2020, when he confirmed that she had been managing his finanaces and stole money from him since 1999.

Investigators confirmed Donna forged her husband's signature on pension checks, social security checks, workers' compensation settlements and other legal documents in order to deposit his personal finances into a secret bank account without his knowledge, WFSB reports.

Authorities also said Donna used her power of attorney status to fraudulently file taxes under her husband's name while keeping her actions secret from him, which she confirmed was made possible by convincing her husband that he had Alzheimer's Disease.

Donna told investigators that her claim would prevent her husband from going to the bank and discovering the low bank account balances during her scheme.

“She was making up stories in the morning telling him that he was running around the house chasing her. He was chasing her saying get out of my house I don’t know you," Elena said.

The man's family told WFSB that his mother had suffered from Alzheimer's and being diagnosed with the disease was his biggest fear.

Investigators also confirmed Donna pawned several of her husband's personal items including rare coins and jewely, WFSB reports.

Donna surrendered to police on Wednesday (October 27) and was held on a $25,000 bond before facing a judge in New Haven on Thursday (October 28).