Woodbridge couple indicted for robbing elderly woman

Pair accused of bilking 80-year-old neighbor out of $400,000

BY KATHY CHANG Staff Writer

MIDDLESEX COUNTY – A Middlesex County grand jury has indicted a Woodbridge husband and wife for allegedly taking over $400,000 from their 80-year-old neighbor, who was diagnosed with a form of dementia in 2005, and allegedly using $300,000 to refurbish their home, open a restaurant in Piscataway and pay for their child’s wedding.

Peter Triantafillidis, 53, and Barbara A. Triantafillidis, 45, were indicted on a total of six counts of criminal activity, the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office said.

Barbara Triantafillidis was charged with three counts of second-degree theft and theft-related offenses, one count of a thirddegree offense of neglect of the elderly, and two counts of the second-degree offense of financial facilitation of criminal activity, the prosecutor’s office said.

Peter Triantafillidis was charged with two counts of second-degree theft-related offenses, one count of third-degree neglect of the elderly, and two counts of the second-degree offense of financial facilitation of criminal activity, the prosecutor’s office said.

Each second-degree crime carries a maximum term of 10 years imprisonment and a $150,000 fine. Each third-degree crime carries a maximum term of five years imprisonment and a $15,000 fine, the prosecutor’s office said.

In addition, the financial facilitation of criminal activity – better known as “money laundering” – offenses carry a separate fine of up to $500,000, as well as an anti-moneylaundering profiteering penalty, which carries a $250,000 fine or an amount equal to three times the value of any property involved in the money-laundering activity, the prosecutor’s office said.

The indictment alleges that between January 2003 and Dec. 31, 2005, the Triantafillidises obtained funds totaling over $400,000 from their 80-year-old female nextdoor neighbor, whom Barbara befriended and for whom she obtained power of attorney in March 2003, the prosecutor’s office said.

It is alleged that the couple told members of the woman’s family that they would take care of her so that the woman could remain in her longtime family home in Woodbridge, the prosecutor’s office said.

On Jan. 21, 2005, the Crisis Intervention Unit of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and the Middlesex County Adult Protective Services with the assistance of the Woodbridge Office of Aging and the Woodbridge police removed the victim from her home, the prosecutor’s office said.

At that time, according to reports received by officials, the residence was extremely dirty, had a broken refrigerator containing spoiled food, and the victim was not appropriately dressed for 15-degree weather, the prosecutor’s office said.

Prior to that time, the Woodbridge Police had received several reports of an elderly disheveled woman wandering the streets, and the victim was finally identified in early January 2005, the prosecutor’s office said.

After the victim was stabilized at the Raritan Bay Medical Center, she was transferred to the Hagedorn Psychiatric Hospital in Glen Gardner, where she was diagnosed with a form of dementia, the prosecutor’s office said.

The victim was later transferred to a senior facility in Chattanooga, Tenn., where she died in October 2006 at the age of 83, the prosecutor’s office said.

Hunterdon County Chancery Judge Roger Mahon, who presided over the appointment of a guardian for the victim in 2006, brought the case to the attention of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office.

Mahon, the court-appointed temporary guardian, and the court-appointed attorney for the victim suspected that there was possible fraud and self-dealing by the power of attorney (Barbara Triantafillidis), the prosecutor’s office said.

The investigation by the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office revealed that aside from the Triantafillidises’ allegedly taking of funds totaling over $400,000 from the victim’s accounts, the defendants allegedly spent over $300,000 in money obtained from the victim to refurbish their home, open a restaurant in Piscataway, the T-Family Café on Stelton Road, pay for a child’s wedding, and pay other miscellaneous personal expenses unrelated to the victim.

When the court schedules an arraignment date on the criminal charges, the state will request that substantial bail be imposed based upon the severity of the charges as well as the money taken, the prosecutor’s office said.

Investigator Michael Daniewicz of the Special Prosecutions Unit of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office conducted the investigation. Assistant Prosecutor Brian D. Gillet of the Special Prosecutions Unit presented the matter to the Middlesex County grand jury.