Naples man faces decades in prison for cheating elderly woman

A 45-year-old Naples man faces 100 years in federal prison after pleading guilty this week to fleecing an elderly woman out of more than $1.2 million following Hurricane Ian.

Luis Emilio Hernandez, indicted in November, admitted to two counts of wire fraud and six counts of money laundering. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the wire fraud counts each carry a maximum 20-year sentence and the money laundry counts each carry a maximum 10-year sentence.

He also faces a $1.2 million forfeiture.

The guilty plea, according to court records, comes after a nearly 14-month stretch where a then 85-year old woman wrote Hernandez about 35 checks totaling $1.26 million. Each of the checks listed a construction related item in the memo section: window, materials, paints, permits.

Prosecutors say he did not do the work and permits required for the job were never requested.

According to a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice and a previous story in the Business Observer based on the indictment and the criminal complaint, here is what happened.

The 85-year-old woman and her now-deceased husband were introduced to Hernandez by a neighbor in November of 2022.

The couple’s Naples home, a single-family house on a gulf access canal, had suffered significant damage during Ian a few months earlier in September. Hernandez presented himself as a licensed contractor saying he would repair the unnamed victim’s house after it was damaged by the storm.

The original agreement was for Hernandez to clean up the couple’s yard and replace the drywall and windows on the first floor of the house. On Nov. 23, the woman wrote him a check for $7,000, writing “downstairs rehab” in the memo section.

Hernandez returned again and again requesting more money for work.

The scheme continued even after the woman sold the house and moved into an assisted living facility in Fort Myers.

Before the sale, in December, the woman had informed Hernandez she was no longer interested in repairs because the house was being put on the market. But Hernandez, according to the complaint, kept pushing her to make repairs, allegedly asking for payment for materials and work that had already been completed.

After the sale and her move, Hernandez would reach out through text and visit the woman in Fort Myers.

During one May 2023 visit, three months after the sale, she wrote Hernandez a check for $28,000, listing “flooring” in the memo section. And on an August visit, she wrote him a check for $21,500, listing “engineer inspection” in the memo section.

To cover his tracks, the Justice Department says he laundered the money by buying and then flipping vehicles in trade-ins at multiple car dealerships in the area.

A sentencing date has not been set.

This case was investigated by the Lee County Sheriff’s Office and the United States Secret Service. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick L. Darcey.