DA: Defendant stole almost $750,000 from 91-year-old woman

A New Hyde Park woman accused of stealing almost $750,000 from a 91-year-old woman was charged with second-degree grand larceny Wednesday in Nassau County court, Nassau District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly said. 

Elizabeth Reilly, 48, allegedly wrote checks to herself and used the victim’s credit card for airline tickets, beauty products and other lifestyle expenses, Donnelly said.

Reilly was indicted by a grand jury and pleaded not guilty during her arraignment Wednesday before Acting State Supreme Court Justice Francis Ricigliano.

Reilly worked for a Floral Park attorney who had a verbal agreement with the victim to handle her finances as she executed power of attorney, living will and other documents with him. As part of the agreement, the lawyer’s office became the mailing address on record for the victim’s financial institutions. Reilly had access to bank statements, check books, credit cards and other financial instruments. 

“The victim believed she was doing the prudent thing when she entrusted her finances to her attorney’s office,” Donnelly said in a statement on Wednesday. 

“Instead, Reilly took advantage of her employee access, allegedly siphoning hundreds of thousands of dollars from the victim by writing herself checks, saving the victim’s credit card information to the defendant’s PayPal account, and also using the victim’s credit card to shop for beauty products, airline tickets and pay for a gym membership on the victim’s dime,” Donnelly said. 

Reilly, a married mother of three, denies the allegations, according to her attorney, Marc Gann of Mineola. 

“She is embarrassed to be even accused of these kinds of charges,” Gann said. 

Reilly is scheduled to return to court on May 6. If convicted, she faces up to 71/2 to 15 years in prison. 

Investigators found that between 2016 and 2020, more than 250 checks were written from the victim’s bank accounts and allegedly made out to the defendant or cash. They were then deposited in Reilly’s bank accounts, or an account held by her husband. The deposited checks totaled more than $675,000. 

The victim’s credit card statements included hundreds of donations to an animal shelter made through PayPal. The defendant paid the credit card bill online, using funds from the victim’s bank accounts. The payments were linked to a device allegedly located at Reilly’s home address. 

The alleged theft was discovered in October 2020, according to Donnelly, when Reilly’s employer reviewed the victim’s credit card statements and found questionable activity. 

“My office is committed to protecting Nassau County’s senior citizens who are frequently preyed upon by unscrupulous individuals in these fraud schemes,” Donnelly said. 

CORRECTION: A previous version of this story omitted "of thousands" from Anne T. Donnelly's quote describing Elizabeth Reilly's alleged actions.