NEW YORK - A former bank employee admitted stealing more than $300,000 from the accounts of an elderly woman suffering from dementia. Edward Lewando, 52, pleaded guilty to grand larceny in the second degree and criminal possession of stolen property in the second degree and was sentenced to 3-to-9 years in state prison.

Lewando was working as a banker when he met the victim, then in her early 90s, at City National Bank. He persuaded the victim’s family to consolidate her multiple bank accounts into one and to allow him to assist her in writing her weekly checks. Even after losing his bank job weeks later, the defendant made regular visits to the victim’s home, where he produced checks drawn from the victim’s accounts for her signature.

Lewando pleaded guilty to making many of these checks out to cash and using the proceeds to pay his own personal credit card bills and to purchase luxury items from Louis Vuitton, Bergdorf Goodman, and other retailers. His activities were initially uncovered by the victim’s next-of-kin shortly before the victim’s passing.

“Financial abuse of senior citizens is the most common form of elder abuse,” said District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr.. “Most of us rely on our bank to safeguard our money. In this case, the victim’s purported banker was stealing from her. Stopping the exploitation of seniors requires that all of us, including our financial institutions, keep a close watch on their employees so that our elders’ life savings are protected from exploiters – whether they are relatives, caregivers, or strangers.”