A barred ex-financial advisor who pleaded guilty to defrauding an octogenarian couple but denies involvement in the killing of one of the victims received a 15-year prison sentence.
Former LPL Financial advisor David Del Rio obtained power of attorney for his clients, Betty and William Cabral, and wrote checks from their bank accounts that he then deposited for himself until the thefts amounted to nearly $3 million, according to state prosecutors in Florida's Palm Beach County. In a
The investigation following the
Del Rio's sentencing for charges including exploitation of an elderly person, fraudulent use of personal information and grand theft from a person 65 years or older offered the latest example of a serious prison term for
"I don't place any stock in the statistics,"
"We have no real understanding of how vast this problem is, because so many victims never report it," he added. "They're too embarrassed."
Del Rio "has nothing to do with" the "sad, horrible" death of Betty Cabral, according to his lawyer, Michael Salnick. He cited a lower figure for the Cabrals' fraud losses than the one alleged by investigators, but pointed out that the plea agreement required Del Rio to relinquish two homes, vehicles and other restitution to the couple's estate and said the final amount won't be determined until the parole process. Del Rio's sentence "could have been astronomical" without the plea deal, Salnick said.
"Mr. Del Rio certainly accepted responsibility and apologized in court to the family and let it be known that he was sorry this ever happened," Salnick added. "I think it was an extremely fair sentence."
Representatives for LPL, where Del Rio
Del Rio met the Cabrals at the bank branch where they held their money after moving to Florida for their retirements following lengthy careers in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In a probe of Betty Cabral's banking records after sheriff's deputies found the 84-year-old woman dead in her condominium, investigators discovered that "an unusually large amount of cash" had flowed out of her accounts and that she had expressed concerns to her caretaker and family members about "her unexplained dwindling monies," according to the probable cause affidavit.
William Cabral's primary physician diagnosed him with Alzheimer's in 2014, and Del Rio secured their power of attorney and status as their sole beneficiary in their will the following year, investigators said. The power of attorney terminated after William's death in 2017, and Del Rio "fraudulently used" it to transfer at least seven checks afterward, the document stated.
He steered the clients' money toward personal uses such as the purchase of a 2017 Audi A8 Sedan, payments for Royal Caribbean Cruises, credit card payments, home improvements, guns, silencers and other firearms equipment, investigators said. While pleading guilty to 36 counts of elder exploitation, money laundering, organized scheme to defraud and other charges, Del Rio agreed to return any assets he took during the advisory relationship and invalidate the power of attorney and wills executed in his name eight years earlier.
The sentence includes 15 years of probation following the prison term of a decade and a half, with credit for 116 days Del Rio had already spent in jail.
"I just wanted to give the judge an idea of who they were," a niece of the Cabral's, Teresa Regan,
The victims' family "has some relief" from the sentence, another niece, Maureen Forte, told the local outlet. "But it's never going to be enough because nothing is going to undo what's been done."
The outflows from the victims' accounts should have raised "some very obvious red flags" at the Cabrals' bank, Greenwood said after reviewing the documents in Del Rio's case. The 15-year sentence represents a welcome departure from the approach of some law enforcement agencies and judges who think "only quote 'violent' defendants" should get long terms, he said.
"I spent a career trying to convince judges that financial exploitation of the elderly is a violent crime because of the repercussions to the victims," Greenwood said.
