This afternoon, Cynthia Gunn Speed, was adjudicated guilty and sentenced to just over 5 years in prison, exactly 63 months, followed by 10 years of probation, for two counts of Exploiting Elderly/Disabled Person. She was found guilty in April following a trial in Lee County.
The defendant exploited two elderly victims by deceiving them into deeding her their property in 2019. The defendant told the victims the document they were signing was an immigration document to benefit workers on a renovation project of the property. The Lee County Sheriff’s Office Economic Crimes Unit investigated the case. An investigator with the Florida Department of Children and Families, as well as family members of the victims, and two doctors, one for each victim, testified at trial. The testimony included evidence that the victims would not have been able to understand what they were signing.
In court today an order was also issued directing that the unlawful deed be cancelled and the property be returned to the rightful owner. Restitution was also ordered for the payment of the outstanding taxes on the property.
Assistant State Attorney Jessica Horowitz, of the State Attorney’s Office Economic Crimes Unit, prosecuted the case.
Samantha Syoen – Communications Director, State Attorney’s Office