Hillsborough Couple Pleads Not Guilty to Bilking Senior Citizen Out of Life Savings

A married Hillsborough couple who allegedly swindled an elderly widow of her life savings pleaded not guilty last week to the charges against them.

Thomas Gangi Jr., 65, and Wilhelmina Gangi, 59, were indicted by a Somerset County grand jury in February on multiple charges of theft and misapplication of entrusted property, according to Somerset County Prosecutor Geoffrey D. Soriano. The two pleaded not guilty in Somerset County Superior Court on Thursday, April 16, according to a report from NJ.com.

The married couple allegedly swindled the life savings, worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, from Martha Figalora, 71, of Hillsborough, the report from NJ.com said. Figalora reportedly used her savings, worth approximately $135,000, to purchase a home in Matawan, New Jersey, which the Gangis agreed to renovate and resell, providing Figalora her initial investment and a share of the profit, Patch reported.

>> Prosecutor: Couple Swindles Senior Citizen of $300,000 In Savings, Home Loans, Sales

In June 2011, Figalora also took out a $95,000 reverse mortgage on a home she owned in Florida to pay for repairs. An investigation revealed that the defendants used the proceeds from the reverse mortgage for personal expenses, including restaurant bills, beauty salons, clothing, pet salons and more.

According to the Somerset County Prosecutor:

• After spending $95,000, the victim and the defendant, Wilhelmina Gangi, jointly applied for a $60,000 home equity loan in January 2012.

• After depleting the $60,000 loan, the defendants later took out two home equity loans in 2012 for $12,000 and $95,700 respectively. They were also secured by the property to finance the repairs, but the Gangis’ used those funds for personal expenses as well.

• A $95,700 loan at 16% interest was used to pay off the first two home equity loans, leaving a balance of approximately $14,000, which was also depleted by the defendants.

• The victim transferred her interest in the Matawan home to W. Gangi on March 5, 2012, at the couples’ urging to protect the property from victim’s creditors.

The Gangis reportedly sold the Matawan home in April 2013 for approximately $343,000 and did not inform Figalora, authorities said. The loans were paid off and the couple took more than $156,000 in profit.

After reading about Figalora, Hillsborough resident Nick Visco launched a fundraiser to help the 71-year-old woman. The fundraiser was posted to YouCaring.com and has $1,815 of its $10,000 goal as of Monday afternoon.

The fundraiser page said no one aside from the victim will receive the funds. “Having had her home foreclosed and with no savings remaining, we feel that she needs and deserves our support, individually and as a community,” the fundraiser said. “That is why we created this fund raising effort.”

Figalora was not reimbursed the money spent from her savings or the money from the reverse mortgage. The scheme left Figalora destitute and forced her to foreclose on her home in August 2013, Patch reported. She is now living in a small apartment.

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