A Florida veteran was considering ending his life after he was scammed out of his entire bank account and his car by a pair of con artists.
The victim, an 82-year-old U.S. Coast Guard veteran, gave a substantial sum of money to help Jessica Henry, 31, who scammed him with the help of her boyfriend, Gregory Dushan, 28, both of whom were feeding a $500 a day drug habit, according to Military.com.
Henry and Dushan were arrested for bullying the veteran out of more than $50,000.
Police: Florida couple left 82-year-old @uscoastguard veteran suicidal after emptying his bank account https://t.co/UCxa4MzDRE
— FOX 10 Phoenix (@FOX10Phoenix) May 21, 2019
Henry met the unidentified victim around three years ago, at which time she told him that she had no money, couldn’t feed her children, and had no transportation.
Around six months ago, Henry got back in touch with the victim and told him she was on probation and needed to comply with urine screens that cost $350 a day.
Dushan joined in the scam by impersonating Henry’s probation officer, contacting the victim on a daily basis and insisting the victim give her between $150 and $1,000 daily. Dushan also told the victim that if he didn’t comply, his vehicle would be taken, and he would be arrested.
The victim did surrender his vehicle to the couple.
The victim soon discovered that his bank account was drained. Distraught and broke, he called the Veterans Crisis Center and told them he was considering suicide because his bank account was in the red.
The crisis center called the police right away and they were able to open an investigation, according to Newsweek.
Even after the investigation was launched, Henry and Dushan still intimidated the victim.
The veteran said he received a phone call from Dushan on Wednesday “demanding he drop the charges against Henry or face being killed in the next half hour,” Newsweek reported.
The same day, the couple was arrested.
Henry and Dushan were charged with exploiting an elderly person between amounts of $20,000 and $100,000.
Dushan had additional charges of impersonating a correction/probation officer but police said that even more charges could be filed against the couple.
Chris Graham, City of DeLand’s Community Information Specialist said, “Both [Dushan and Henry] remain in custody. The investigation remains open so there may be more charges.”
They were both taken to the Volusia County Branch Jail. Dushan’s bond is $25,000 and Henry’s is $10,000.
Police have been able to locate the victim’s vehicle and return it to him.
The DeLand Police Department is now seeking assistance for the victim, who now cannot even afford to pay his rent.
