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Andrew George Lesnak, 82, of Hampton Bays, Long Island (above, left), and his son, 53-year-old Andrew Michael Lesnak of Toms River, were being held on $75,000 bail each, charged with a variety of theft-related offenses alleged in a grand jury indictment.
The younger Lesnak (above, right) was an investment advisor to the 69-year-old widow and her husband, who died in 2007, leaving her no nearby relatives or people she could trust, authorities said.
After convincing her to turn over an annuity to him, they said, he produced a pair of cashier’s checks — one for nearly $168,153 and the other for roughly $6,847.
He then used the larger check to pay off a home equity line of credit held against his father’s Pine Brook home and deposited the second into the elder man’s checking account.
The son then withdrew the money and put it into his own business account, Acting New Jersey Attorney John J. Hoffman said.
Three years ago, the woman entered an assisted living facility, couldn’t get a callback from the younger Lesnak and hired a lawyer, Hoffman said.
The attorney discovered the money missing and alerted authorities.
Hoffman said the pair “exploited a woman who needed sound investment support in her retirement years, despicably using her life savings as a piggy bank for them to plunder.”
The six-count indictment returned in Hackensack charges the Lesnaks with conspiracy, along with five counts related to theft by deception through financial facilitation.
MUGSHOTS: Courtesy BERGEN COUNTY SHERIFF
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