CAPE CORAL, Fla. — A Cape Coral mother-daughter duo was convicted in a more than half million dollar fraud case targeting a 92-year-old victim.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida, 58-year-old Diane Durbon and her daughter Brittany Lukasik were both hired as caretakers for the victim. In October 2017, Durbon began unlawfully accessing the victims investment accounts by putting the victim on the phone to answer security questions.
Durbon then moved the money from the investment accounts into a Prime Money Market Account that also functioned as a checking account. Checks ranging from $1,000 to more than $9,000 were then unlawfully issued to Lukasik.
Between November 2017 and July 2019, approximately $231,659 in checks were issued to Lukasik.
In November 2018, Durbon began unlawfully accessing the victim's annuity policy. Soon after, Durbon faxed a fraudulent Annuity Withdrawal form stating that the victim wanted to cash out the policy. This caused the annuity to issue a $244,521 check to the victim, which was then deposited to Lukasik.
In total, between January 2019 and March 2020, approximately $542,700 in fraudulently obtained funds were deposited into Lukasik’s accounts.
The duo used the funds to pay off debt and make a variety of purchases, including a vehicle, a duplex in Cape Coral, electronics, furniture and remodeling expenses.
Durbon was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Lukasik was sentenced to two years in prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and filing a false tax return. They were also ordered to forfeit their duplex, two vehicles and $542,760 traceable to the offense.
