PENSION PREDATOR
COURT HEARS MUM ...
Spent $50k on stolen bank card
Stole from 87yo on mobility scooter
Moved cash from 80yo man’s account
ALLEGED Corio conwoman Charmaine Elston, who is facing 500 charges and accused of robbing tens of thousands of dollars from frail, elderly men across Geelong, has spent the night in jail following a dramatic court arrest.
Police closed in on the 31year-old mother at lunchtime yesterday, arresting her as she tried to leave Geelong Magistrates’ Court.
The latest offence alleged against her is that she picked $800 from the pocket of an 87year-old man with Parkinson’s disease while he was on his mobility scooter outside a bank at Corio Village shopping centre in May.
Police say the accused woman had her four-year-old daughter with her at the time.
They allege Ms Elston and a co-accused woman surrounded the man after seeing him withdraw his cash, forcing him to reverse the scooter towards the Commonwealth Bank’s ATM before confusing him and robbing him.
She told police the child in the footage was her daughter and identified the co-offender as Ann Maree Jones, but denied she was there at the time.
Police also allege they stopped Ms Elston committing further crimes on Saturday when they found her and her sister, Jinara, in a car with a 75year-old man in Norlane at 11.30pm.
Acting Sergeant Naomi Bourke told the court the man was driving in his pyjamas, and said the women had asked him for money.
“My belief is we did stop them deceiving him,” Sgt Bourke said.
“There is a suggestion they proposition these men for sexual favours . . . a lot of elderly gentlemen are often too embarrassed and do not report these matters to police.”
Ms Elston was denied bail yesterday after the fresh charges were laid against her.
The court heard she — and her alleged co-offenders — often befriended elderly men and then surprised them in the middle of the night, knocking on their door to ask for a drink or to use a toilet, and then forcing their way into their homes.
Earlier, in a different courtroom, five different cases where police allege Ms Elston tricked and stole from elderly men were detailed.
The largest brief includes 468 charges, including allegations the defendant repeatedly used a stolen bank card for three months late last year.
Police claim she stole more than $50,000 from the man’s account, making cash withdrawals and purchases on the card, and also gaining access to his pension payments.
In a separate case, police allege Ms Elston stole an 80year-old man’s bank cards and took control of his finances, getting his Centrelink payments paid into her account.
The court was told at least 180 transactions had been made from the man’s account that he had no knowledge of.
Ms Elston’s lawyer, Damien Pitts, said the woman planned to fight most of the 500 charges she was facing, claiming that, in some cases, the men had given her authority to use their cards.
Mr Pitts also said she denied some of the transactions were made by her.
A series of court dates was scheduled for December and early next year for Ms Elston to contest the charges.
While the woman denied she now had a drug habit, the bail application heard she had syringes and spoons in her handbag when arrested at court yesterday.
Magistrate Ann McGarvie also pointed out the incident on Saturday night happened while Ms Elston was supposed to be at her Hendy St home under a curfew as part of her bail conditions.
Ms Elston’s next court appearance was scheduled for October 31.