Deputies say woman stole thousands from elderly victim

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - Deputies say they’ve made an arrest after a 96-year-old Deltona woman was swindled out of around $17,000.

The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office says 35-year-old Samara McCastler was arrested Wednesday in Orange County and is facing charges of organized scheme to defraud, grand theft and fraudulent use of a credit card.

“To take advantage of somebody at that age like that, I think that speaks to the piece of scum we’re dealing with,” said Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood.

Investigators say someone called the victim pretending to be from her bank and told her she needed a new debit card – so she should put the old one in an envelope and stick it in her mailbox. Deputies say the caller also got the victim’s pin number and the last four digits of her social security number.

“Fortunately, she has a caretaker who the next day gets into the account when the victim tells the story and sees all the withdrawals and she calls police right away,” Chitwood explained.

Investigators say McCastler spent thousands with the victim’s card in late May, even putting a down payment on a Lexis. But they say they were able to trace some of the transactions and ended up ID’ing her with store surveillance.

“She’s got an extensive criminal record,” Chitwood said. “I know she’s been convicted for fraud, she’s been convicted for a bunch of things and I gotta tell you, I hope this time when she goes in front of a judge that they sentence her to a long and lengthy stay in prison for what she did to this woman.”

Chitwood says the case is still open and there could be more arrests.