Miami man who posed as elderly woman's son gets 20 years in prison

A 67-year-old Miami resident, Alejandro Diaz Torriente, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for exploiting a 94-year-old woman. According to the NBC 6 website, the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office found Diaz Torriente guilty of financial exploitation in March 2023. He will also serve 10 years of probation following his prison term.

The victim, who lived alone in her El Portal home since 1980, was declared legally incompetent in 2021, making her particularly vulnerable to exploitation. Diaz Torriente, who had known the woman since childhood, began impersonating her son during doctor visits and other interactions. He later redirected her Social Security payments and opened bank accounts, withdrawing approximately $20,000 in cash.

Investigators discovered that Diaz Torriente had also targeted the woman's home, adding himself as a joint tenant with rights of survivorship to the property. This agreement would have granted him significant rights to the house and potentially entitled him to inherit the property upon her death. Diaz Torriente ultimately took over the house and changed the locks, limiting the elderly woman's access to her own home.

The prosecutor, Katherine Fernandez Rundle, warned that this case should serve as a warning to anyone attempting to exploit vulnerable older residents. She emphasized that such crimes against our elderly residents will not be tolerated. Diaz Torriente will spend two decades in prison for his crimes, and a decade on probation.