Retired IRS agent imprisoned for bilking elderly California woman of life savings

SONOMA COUNTY, Calif. (KRON) — An 81-year-old retired IRS agent from Southern California was sentenced to 12 years in state prison Friday for conning an elderly woman in Sonoma County out of her entire life savings during a seven-year period.

The perpetrator, 81-year-old Elana Cohen-Roth of Marina Del Rey, was found guilty of 23 felony offenses related to the scam, Sonoma County District Attorney Carla Rodriguez’s office announced in a press release.

“The victim’s years of hard work and lifetime savings are gone due to Ms. Cohen-Roth’s greed,” Rodriguez stated. “Unfortunately, the victim will never be made whole financially and her life is forever impacted. The judge’s sentence is entirely appropriate and hopefully will provide some measure of justice for the victim.”

Cohen-Roth, who also worked as a tax professional, first prepared the victim’s taxes in 2013. After befriending the victim, Cohen-Roth gained access to her financial information.

From December 2013 to September 2019, Cohen-Roth extended “investment opportunities” to her on more than 20 different occasions, the district attorney’s office said. During this time, the victim gave Cohen-Roth amounts ranging from $25,000 to $150,000 for presumed investments.

“Cohen-Roth told the victim that while her investments were making some money, she could earn far more by investing with her,” a press release from the DA’s office reads. “Cohen-Roth told the victim she would invest it in some type of real estate deal where she could earn at least 10% interest at ‘no risk.’ Based on Cohen-Roth’s credentials and their friendship, the victim completely trusted Cohen-Roth’s financial advice.”

Cohen-Roth’s bank records showed that she was running a sophisticated Ponzi scheme with other “investors” who also deposited large sums into her account, the DA’s office said. Cohen-Roth used a portion of the victim’s money to pay off the earlier “investors” and used the rest to fund a “lavish lifestyle" and give gifts to her family.

By September of 2019, Cohen-Roth had spent all of the money put into her nefarious investment accounts and took out a reverse mortgage on her home. The Ponzi scheme collapsed in 2020, when the victim demanded a return on her investments so she could move closer to her family.

“Because Cohen-Roth did not have another source to pay the victim with, the entire scheme fell apart, and the victim did not receive any of her money back,” the DA’s office said. “The then 73-year-old victim went from owning her own home and having around $1 million in investments to live on, to being financially destitute. The elderly victim was unable to pay for her minimal daily living expenses while Elana Cohen-Roth lived comfortably on the victim’s money.”

A Sonoma County jury convicted Cohen-Roth of all 23 felony financial fraud charges brought against her. Because of Cohen-Roth’s age, Sonoma County Judge Paige Hein sentenced her to 12 years in prison instead of the maximum sentence of 28 years.