Waitress Sentenced For Scamming Elderly Widow Out Of $500K

BROOKLYN, NY — The waitress who scammed an elderly widow who frequented her diner out of nearly $500,000 will spend up to nine years behind bars for the crime, prosecutors said.

Alicia Legall, 46, of Flatlands, was sentenced to three to nine years in prison on Wednesday after she pled guilty to stealing the money last month, District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced. Legall also agreed to pay back $470,299 to the victim.

"This defendant preyed on an elderly and lonely widow, gained her trust and then used the victim’s money as her own private bank account to pay for gambling, vacations and other expenses," Gonzalez said in a statement. "Her greedy betrayal was egregious and deplorable."

Starting in 2002, Legall befriended the woman, who was in her 80's, when she came into the diner Legall was a waitress at, prosecutors said.

Legall eventually got access to the woman's personal information — date of birth, address, social security number, bank and credit card — with the victim asking Legall to make small purchases for her at nearby stores, authorities said.

Eventually, Legall started to cash 75 checks tied to the victim's bank account worth more than $200,000 Legall wrote herself, forging the woman's signature, prosecutors said.

From March 2013 to April 2016, Legall stole $277,789 from the woman by using her credit card at Atlantic City hotels, restaurants in Miami, the Belmont Racetrack and more. She also used the woman's information to open additional credit cards and created online profiles in her name on horse betting websites, prosecutors said.

Legall was arrested in October and pled guilty to grand larceny charges for the crime last month, the DA said.

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