KLAS-TV Channel 8 News Las VegasMore Details Emerge in Elderly Scam
More victims are contacting police to say they were scammed by two people targeting the elderly.
Judy Stevens, one of the suspects, was in court Friday morning for an appearance on robbery charges. Her bail was set at $100,000. She and Rick Shawn are accused of stealing at least $91,000 from more than a dozen elderly victims.
Police now say Shawn and Stevens conned at least 19 people over the age of 73 years old in the Las Vegas Valley.
Las Vegas Metro Police now believe that the con may be a family affair. Police sources say relatives of Rick Shawn may be involved in scamming the elderly. This new information comes as Judy Stevens went to court and got a judge to reduce her bail.
Stevens stood before a video camera to make her initial court appearance on Friday. She didn't say much except to acknowledge that she understood the judge's ruling to reduce bail from $150,000 to $100,000. If she bonds out, she will have to wear a GPS.
Prosecutors expressed concern that she could run.
"When she was arrested, she was packing her bags and getting ready to leave that local home," said Scott Mitchell, assistant district attorney.
Stevens' defense attorney argued that she was a long-time resident. He pointed out her daughter in the courtroom. To that, the prosecution replied.
"They are gypsies. That is the purest simplest way to put it," said Mitchell. Metro police sources say they are unraveling the web surrounding Rick Shawn and Stevens. Those sources say relatives may have pulled the same scam.
CrimeStoppers photos were released in May of 2008. Police say the couple targeted the elderly and the man in the picture may be a close relative of Shawn. That same month in 2008, Ida Grant was approached by a couple she says looked similar to Shawn and Stevens.
"He said, 'I'm Mikie, I lived down the street about 10 years ago when I was a little kid,'" Grant said.
She says that affter talking their way into her home, one distracted her and the other took her purse. Grant says she is much more cautious now when people come to her door.
"The police came about a week later and I would not open the door," she laughts. On a serious note, she is glad that police are going after those who target the elderly.
Shawn is also accused of befriending a 79-year-old man suffering from dementia in Cyrpress, California and talking him into handing over $19,000. Shawn is also under investigation in Washinton, Oregon and Arizona.
Police believe there may be more victims who haven't come forward. Investigators are asking them to call the Metro Financial Crimes Unit at 828-3285.
