HOUSTON — A woman connected to a family known for organized crime in Houston has been charged with conning a man out of tens of thousands of dollars.
“We have a young man early 30s, who was at a Target store in Meyerland Plaza," said prosecutor Sheila Hansel. "And he was approached by a woman he did not know."
Police said that what took place in that parking lot happens all the time. Hansel said it all started out with a desperate plea.
“She gave him a story about how she had children and grandchildren she needed taking care of”," Hansel said.
The woman, who investigators have identified as Betty Yonko, approached him for money.
Prosecutors say what makes this case different than others is that Yonko took the time to befriend her victim. Law enforcement also said she's a part of a family that is known for running scams.
Yonko has been arrested and charged with theft, specifically taking $35,000 from an innocent victim.
“The victim in this case has a learning disability," Hansel said. "He is affected by autism.”
Prosecutors said that after approaching and meeting the victim in a parking lot on June 15, she got his phone number and started calling daily.
“The hot water heater in her apartment needed fixing, her car needed fixing, her children were sick, her grandchild needed something – just one sad story after the next," Hansel said.
Eventually, the victim's family noticed what was going on and called police.
“Personally, I’ve been working on these cases for three and a half years," said Detective Moisa Iovescu with the Houston Police Department's Major Offenders Division.
Iovescu said he's worked on other cases involving the Yonko family, most notably, the "wobbly wheel" scam.
“They would tell them their tire was wobbly," Iovescu said. "And at that point, they would tell them, 'I can fix it.'”
While Betty Yonko has not been charged in those scams, she has been convicted before for stealing from the elderly and jumping bail.
Police say the best thing you can do to prevent yourself from becoming a victim is to be aware of your surroundings and to stay off your phone while walking to your car.
And if you do decide to help someone, don't give them any of your personal information.
“It’s a numbers game for them, they approach person after person after person, they get 55 no’s for every yes – it’s a typical sales tactic,” Hansel said.
Yonko is out of jail on a $10,000 bond.
KHOU 11 spoke to her court-appointed attorney, but he said he had just been assigned to the case and is still reviewing it.