A Lauderhill woman used her position as a home health care provider to con a hospitalized man out of his Plantation home and more than $200,000 in life savings, according to charges filed by the Broward State Attorney’s Office.
Lillian Morris, 78, was working as an aide for Synergy Home Care, an independent agency that provides home health services to senior citizens who can’t care for themselves. The Broward Property Appraiser’s Office, the Department of Children and Families and the Broward Sheriff’s Office began investigating Morris after a neighbor reported the victim, whose name was not released, wandering unescorted in his Plantation neighborhood.
The victim’s family hired Morris in 2022 after he separated from his wife, according to a police report. Over a two-year period, she went from staying at his house overnight and showing up on days she was supposed to be off to using his money to pay for overseas trips and signing over his house, the report said. Family later learned she added herself to the victim’s bank account.
“She stole more than $200,000 from his account, and she got him to deed his house over to her,” said Broward Property Appraiser Marty Kiar, whose office helped keep the house in the victim’s family. Kiar said Morris used the victim’s money to fund her trips to Amsterdam, Greece, Mexico and Africa. She also bought two CDs with $80,000 she withdrew from his account, Kiar said.
Morris was arrested last month, but Kiar’s office announced the arrest Tuesday to draw attention to his office’s “Owner Alert Program,” which warns homeowners and families about cases of economic fraud involving their properties. The victim’s home is worth $1.1 million.
“If the warning comes early enough, the person or business that is attempting the fraud won’t have time to do anything before the issue is corrected,” Kiar said.
No defense lawyer is listed for Morris, who remains in custody at the Paul Rein detention center in Pompano Beach.
Rafael Olmeda can be reached at rolmeda@sunsentinel.com or 954-356-4457.
