Couple enter not guilty pleas to bilking 3 elderly menPair accused of taking $200,000

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Couple-enter-not-guilty-pleas-to-bilking-3-1280936.php

By BRAD WONG, P-I REPORTER Published 10:00 pm, Thursday, July 31, 2008

In December, Yana Tanya Schinman took an elderly man who prosecutors say she scammed into a Seattle Mercedes dealership to buy a $70,000 car.

When the dealership balked, she and the 86-year-old went across the street to another dealership. Schinman later drove away with an equally expensive BMW – bought by the man and registered in his name.

Prosecutors say she and a total of three elderly men showed up at different times at Nordstrom, Barneys New York, Cartier, banks and other businesses in a scheme that bilked the three out of at least $200,000 in cash, goods or credit.

She and Michael Evans Jr., accused of being her partner, pleaded not guilty Thursday in King County Superior Court to numerous theft and attempted theft charges.

Schinman, a 31-year-old who also goes by Yana T. Ristick, and Evans, 33, remain in custody. If convicted, they could be sentenced to prison terms ranging from 43 to 57 months, King County Prosecutor's Office spokesman Dan Donohoe said.

One theme in the scheme was finding single men with poor memories and befriending them, prosecutors said. Two of the elderly men may have been drugged, according to court documents.

One victim, 91, lives in West Seattle. Another one is 86. The third, also 86, lives in Belltown.

On Dec. 6, Schinman met the 91-year-old at the Metropolitan Market in West Seattle, saying they once lived in the same building, according to court documents.

Four days later, she arrived at his house and talked him into window shopping in downtown Seattle and viewing Christmas lights. But Evans, who was waiting for them in a car, drove them to a Bellevue mall, prosecutors said.

At the Nordstrom store there, Schinman told an employee that the man wanted to open a credit account with her as a co-signer.

At one point, an employee told Seattle police, she began pulling "thousands of dollars worth of merchandise in the designer section without even giving a glance at the prices or sizes.“

Later that day in downtown Seattle, employees at Barneys and Cartier grew suspicious when she tried to open credit accounts on the man's behalf.

Schinman left all three stores empty-handed. Employees either didn't grant the credit or canceled it.

But police say she succeeded in getting $5,500 from the man's account at First Mutual Bank.

During the same month, she met her second victim in West Seattle. He lives by himself.

On Dec. 14, she and the man tried to buy a Mercedes SUV from the dealership on East Pike Street in Seattle. She demanded to be listed as the co-owner. Employees grew suspicious and stalled the purchase.

The two went across the street, where they bought a BMW SUV, a transaction, including loan charges, worth nearly $95,000.

She left the dealership "by herself driving the newly purchased BMW," prosecutors said.

The third victim, the Belltown man, met Schinman about three months ago while shopping at a QFC.

On June 28, Evans drove the two to Reno to get married, prosecutors said. The man gave her a $7,000 engagement ring.

The man believed she was a wedding planner and needed an apartment to entertain clients. So he gave her about $20,000 to rent a luxury apartment at 2400 Fourth Ave. in Seattle, court documents said.

On July 14, Evans persuaded the man to start a car dealership with him. The victim gave him $30,000, prosecutors said.

"To date in this investigation, there is no evidence that this business actually exists," a police detective reported.

On July 15, police arrested Schinman on suspicion of theft. Officers arrested Evans the same day at the Fourth Avenue apartment.

Prosecutors filed charges two days later. That same day she was trying to get $17,000 from one of her victim's bank accounts, court documents said.

During one search, a detective found a cashier's check worth $46,303 from the Belltown victim, who told investigators he does not remember that transaction.

When officers searched the apartment, they found $9,565 in cash, a man's gold-and-diamond watch, Gucci and Louis Vuitton merchandise and a pearl necklace.

Investigators believe the necklace belonged to the Belltown victim's wife, who died four years ago. The two had been married for 52 years.

Gypsy couple accused in 'sweetheart scam'

http://www.king5.com/story/news/local/2014/07/29/12720922/ KING Staff, KING5.com 8:30 a.m. PDT September 21, 2009

SEATTLE - A husband and wife who prosecutors say schemed elderly men out of high-priced gifts pleaded not guilty to charges of theft Thursday. A total of nine charges were filed against Yana Ristick and Michael Evans, who have a child and are considered a married couple within the gypsy community.Prosecutors say they financed their expensive taste by having Ristick befriend and even romance elderly men. Court documents say in the past year, the pair targeted at least three men, all over age 85. One was in his 90s. Last month, they even drove an 86-year-old widow to Las Vegas where Ristick legally married him."When you're lonely and you're old and you've lost your wife of 52 years, your defenses are down," said Prosecutor Page Ulrey.Prosecutors say Ristick would take the men to banks and high end stores to open lines of credit. At some places, it didn't work.

John Wilhelm, who sells Mercedes at Phil Smart, sensed something was wrong when Ristick walked into the dealership with a man 50 years her senior. She quickly picked the most expensive SUV in the store, and wanted to buy it without so much as a test drive."She said she lived with him and that he was putting her in the catering business," Wilhelm said. "So this didn't seem right." Wilhelm also says she wouldn't allow the man to answer even simple questions and eventually the dealership told her they couldn't complete the sale that night.Instead, she crossed the street to a BMW dealership, ultimately driving away in a new SUV which cost her elderly victim nearly $95,000.Investigators also say Ristick convinced her 86-year-old husband to lease an apartment, where she moved into with Michael Evans and their 13-month-old baby.Prosecutors say the couples' victims are devastated."So not only are you experiencing the loss, the financial loss. But you're also experiencing shame and humiliation, and it's embarrassing to admit that this person came in and took over life and you fell for it," Ulrey said.Between cash transfers and withdrawals at banks, plus that BMW, prosecutors believe Ristick scammed her victims out of at least $200,000.Prosecutors also say Evans was charged with an almost identical sweetheart crime with a different woman in 2003. Their attorneys did not return calls for comment.

Police: Seattle con artists scammed widower

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Police-Seattle-conwoman-partner-scammed-widower-3689233.php By LEVI PULKKINEN, SEATTLEPI.COM STAFFPublished 9:52 pm, Sunday, July 8, 2012

Two con artists recently sentenced to prison for swindling elderly Seattle-area men are back at it, King County prosecutors claim.Filing charges earlier this month, prosecutors contend Yana T. Ristick and Michael J. Evans returned to fraud just months after they were released from state prison, where they’d been serving time for a swindle similar to the one with which both are now accused.

Prosecutors claim Ristick stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from a recently widowed Seattle man, while Evans stole the man’s car and sold it to an unsuspecting buyer.Searching their home on June 29, investigators recovered dozens of valuable items, including a full-length fur coat, high-end suits and shoes, Tiffany crystal and numerous products made by Coach and Louis Vuitton, Senior Deputy Prosecutor Page Ulrey told the court. A BMW and a Porsche were parked in the home’s driveway.The alleged victim in the current case is a 79-year-old widower who lost his wife two months before meeting Evans and Ristick.Writing the court, Seattle Police Det. Pamela St. John said the Seattle man posted a "for sale" sign in his late wife’s car, which was parked in front of his home. Playing the part of a buyer, Evans approached the man and offered to buy the $3,800 car in installments.Days later, Evans returned with Ristick, whom he introduced as his cousin. According to charging documents, Ristick, in the days and weeks that followed, began asking the man for money.Recounting the man’s statement to police, St. John said Ristick claimed to be interested in buying a catering company. Ristick refused to give the man basic information about the business and wouldn’t tell him her real name. Still, St. John said, the man ultimately loaned Ristick $190,000 for a company that did not exist.

Beyond the loan, the man bought Ristick household items at Sam’s Club and gave her $85,000 to host an event, the detective continued.As that fraud was ongoing, Evans attempted to sell the car he’d stolen from the man, according to charging documents. Evans sold the car for $4,700; the car’s new owner only later learned it had been stolen.The new allegations closely follow those previously made against the pair in 2008.Following that prosecution, Evans was convicted of five felony counts related to the swindles and sentenced to 3½ years in prison. Ristick was convicted on 10 similar counts and sentenced just more than four years in prison.In those cases, the pair was accused of seeking out elderly men at King County shopping centers and defrauding them.“In each case, Ristick would approach the victim in the grocery store where he was shopping alone, pretend that she knew him, and quickly develop a relationship with him,” Ulrey told the court. “She would then proceed to financially exploit each victim.”In one case, Evans drove Ristick and their victim to Nevada, where Ristick married the man. They still own their victims $67,100.Ulrey noted that Evans fled the state after charges were filed against him in 2008. He was arrested in New York and extradited.Both defendants are currently jailed on $500,000 bail. Evans has been charged with car theft and trafficking stolen property, while Ristick has been charged with five counts of first-degree theft and three counts of second-degree theft. Neither has yet entered a plea.

Tacoma woman accused of swindling elderly husband

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Tacoma-woman-accused-of-swindling-elderly-husband-166486496.html

Tacoma woman accused of swindling elderly husband

By Tracy Vedder Published: Aug 16, 2012 at 5:25 PM PDT

FEDERAL WAY, Wash. -- Prosecutors accuse a Tacoma woman of wooing and then stealing from a prominent millionaire with dementia.

When you mention the name Cratsenberg in Federal Way, locals will know exactly who and what you're talking about. Over decades, the family patriarch built a million dollar business with commercial properties throughout the region.

"It's a very prominent family that is very well known in the city of Federal Way," said Cathy Schrock of the Federal Way Police Department.

Over the past few years, prosecutors allege Juliana Min Cratsenberg took advantage of the 86-year-old family patriarch, who suffers from dementia. She's accused of moving into his home, marrying him and ultimately stealing from him.

"It was very obvious that she had every intention of taking control of all the finances that she could possibly do and then running up a lot of debt," Schrock said.

Documents show Mrs. Cratsenberg withdrew $100,000 from her husband's bank account. She took out $23,000 to buy a Lexus SUV and another $60,0000 was taken from ATMs or casino checks, with most being drawn at Muckleshoot Casino, according to court documents.

In those same documents, the woman admitted most of the money taken from the account was spent gambling. After Mr. Cratsenberg suffered a stroke, prosecutors say the woman dragged him across the floor to the bathroom after failing to get him immediate medical care.

The Cratsenberg sons released a brief statement saying their father is now safe and being well cared for and they appreciate the efforts of police and prosecutors in going after those who seek to exploit vulnerable adults.

Juliana Cratsenberg is not in custody and will be arraigned on felony theft charges next week.

Charge: Woman wooed, wed, fleeced elderly widower

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Charge-Woman-wooed-fleeced-elderly-widower-3791506.php

LEVI PULKKINE, Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Published 10:49 pm, Wednesday, August 15, 2012

The wife of a Federal Way millionaire is facing felony theft charges following allegations that she preyed on his failing health to raid his life savings.

King County prosecutors claim Juliana Min Cratsenberg and the 86-year-old, dementia-stricken man hurriedly married after the man’s sons sought legal protection for their father.

While the courts ultimately intervened, prosecutors contend Cratsenberg, 59, gambled and spent tens of thousands of dollars to which she was not entitled. She has now been charged with first-degree theft.

In court documents, Federal Way Police Det. Annette Scholl claimed Cratsenberg knew her husband’s mental health was failing when she began deceiving him and embezzling his fortune.

“Juliana Cratsenberg gained (his) trust and love, isolated him from his family, controlled his movements, controlled his finances … and, ultimately, physically and verbally abused him,” the detective told the court. “Those actions, combined with (his) limited cognitive capacity, are evidence of the fact that any consent he gave was not given knowingly and voluntarily.”

A self-made millionaire, the elderly man’s health began to decline after his previous wife died in January 2008, Scholl told the court. In the months that followed, the man met Cratsenberg, a then-55-year-old woman also known as Young Min Song.

According to charging documents, Cratsenberg soon became involved in the family business, took to wearing the man’s deceased wife’s clothing and jewelry and began isolating the man from his family. Scholl told the court Cratsenberg also convinced the man to pay off her debts and to begin supporting her two children.

The man’s children sought guardianship in early 2009 after it became clear he was developing dementia. Cratsenberg and the man fought the guardianship action.

A doctor conducting a court-ordered assessment in March 2009 found the man was “vulnerable to undue influence and financial exploitation,” and that he could no longer manage his own finances.

Five days after that exam, Cratsenberg used the man’s money to buy a home for her two children, Scholl told the court. By the end of the month, Cratsenberg and the man were wed; the detective noted the wedding took place 10 minutes after the three-day waiting period on their wedding license had passed.

Litigation followed.

The man’s children sued to have their father declared a “vulnerable adult” and protected under state law. They also sought a guardian to manage and secure his finances.

Ultimately, all concerned agreed to a less-restrictive arrangement which saw the man’s assets placed in a trust while the newlyweds received an ample allowance and other financial support.

But, according to charging documents, Cratsenberg never stopped taking from the man.

Scholl noted Cratsenberg appears to have hidden money before and after the agreement. She is also alleged to have sold off the man’s deceased wife’s jewelry, run up $86,000 on his credit card and taken $60,500 out of his checking account.

Writing the court, the detective also noted Cratsenberg waited days to summon help after the man suffered a stroke at their home.

“At some point, Juliana dragged (him) across the floor to the bathroom while he was unable to walk, causing rug burns and cuts on his legs and feet,” Scholl said in charging documents. “It was only when she couldn’t get him off the floor that she called 911.”

The man was placed in a nursing home following the stroke. Scholl told the court Cratsenberg was barred from visiting him because she was “so manipulative and abusive toward” him.

Additional court proceedings followed, during which Cratsenberg admitted to having spent large sums of money gambling, Scholl told the court. The woman claimed her husband approved the expenses.

“Juliana Cratsenberg knew that (the man) was suffering from progressive dementia and unable to manage his own finances … based on an evaluation done mere days before their secret marriage,” Scholl told the court. “She knew (his assets were) … to be used for his benefit, and that she had no legal claim upon them.”

Cratsenberg has not yet entered a plea to the charge against her. She has not been jailed in the case.