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Natalia Calderon-Diaz, 33, admitted to siphoning tens of thousands of dollars from the tenant's bank account over the course of about a year and a half, acting Union County Prosecutor Lyndsay V. Ruotolo said.
The victim, who lived alone in Linden Arms apartments on Linden Avenue, died several weeks ago and left behind no immediate family. She will be laid to rest next to her parents in a local cemetery later this week, authorities said.
The victim at some point became acquainted with Calderon-Diaz, who gradually gained her trust – and access to her bank account, the Union County Prosecutor's Office said.
From December 2017 through June 2019, Calderon-Diaz withdrew tens of thousands of dollars from the victim's bank account without the victim’s knowledge or permission, the Union County Prosecutor's Office said.
Calderon-Diaz was charged in September 2019, and shortly thereafter pleaded guilty to third-degree theft.
Union County Superior Court Judge Robert Kirsch remarked on the heinousness of the crime during sentencing, noting that Calderon-Diaz singled out a frail, elderly, independently-wealthy victim, with the primary aim of gaining and then betraying her trust by stealing from her.
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