Santa Fe veteran happy alleged scammers nabbed
95-year-old man’s finances exhausted
SANTA FE — A friend says that 95-year-old World War II veteran Dennis Ferk was relieved when he heard that a couple accused of scamming him out of hundreds of thousands of dollars had been arrested Thursday.
“When I asked him if he’d heard the news, he just had a big smile on his face,” Gil Martinez, a fellow parishioner at Santa Maria de La Paz Catholic church in Santa Fe, who has been helping Ferk over the past year, said Friday.
The man Martinez calls “Sarge” was allegedly ripped off by Dian Zeemin, 69, and Joseph Rosko, 62.
Officers arrested the couple, who had been hired to look after Ferk about five years ago, Thursday at an RV park in Questa, north of Taos.
On Thursday morning, the Santa Fe Police Department had released a wanted flier for Zeemin and Rosko, saying they were known to be traveling across New Mexico and Colorado in a small mobile home, and were frequenting campgrounds, RV parks and local casinos.
Several hours later, police caught up with the pair at Questa after receiving an anonymous tip, said Sgt. Elizabeth Armijo, a State Police spokeswoman. The tip reportedly came from someone who saw their pictures on a KOATTV news report.
Ferk “had always had a big fear of Mr. Rosko because of the way he was treated before,” Martinez said.
He said Zeemin and Rosko began working as caretakers for Ferk after they were referred by a friend in 2011.
A detective’s affidavit filed in Magistrate Court details a long
list of questionable dealings by the couple involving the refinancing of Ferk’s home, credit card accounts and the trade-in of Ferk’s RV for another motorhome, among other transactions. Rosko and Zeemin denied any wrongdoing.
The couple was charged in July, but police hadn’t been able to find them until Thursday. They were arrested on felony warrants for exploitation and forgery charges, and booked into the Taos Adult Detention Center.
Martinez began helping Ferk when, at church on a Sunday in November 2015, Ferk asked to talk to Martinez. “He had difficulty getting it out,” Martinez said. “He said, ‘Will you protect me?’”
Martinez said $7,800 has been raised to help Ferk through a gofundme account.
Martinez urged others to get involved and help when they hear that elderly people are being scammed. “This is happening everywhere,” he said.
Ferk has been living with his daughter since his finances were exhausted.