A woman who trusted a former Bank of America employee with her finances is speaking out after he was charged with stealing over $500,000 from her.

Mario Martinez, 40, is facing several charges, including exploitation of the elderly or disabled adult, organized fraud and first-degree grand theft.

NBC6 spoke with the woman, who is disabled and uses a motorized wheelchair.

“He was very kind to me and helped me in other areas of finance, that like, I was very grateful,” she said.

The woman said she considered Martinez a friend.

According to the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office, deputies began investigating the case on Jan. 16 after they received a call from the Bank of America branch in southwest Miami-Dade, where a supervisor reported a scheme involving one of his employees.

An arrest affidavit said Martinez was taking money from a client at the bank, and that he had a joint account with the victim without her knowing, and he would move money from her bank into his without authorization.

Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle on Tuesday gave more information on the case and said the woman had known Martinez since 2016, and he had helped her open at least one bank account.

The State Attorney’s Office has a task force that specifically deals with the exploitation of the elderly and people who are handicapped.

At one point, the victim received an inheritance and wasn’t sure how to handle her finances, and Martinez told her he could help her, Rundle said.

“The victim recalls entering the bank and expressing to the subject that she recently inherited a large sum of money,” Rundle said. “The subject explained that he was a financial advisor and he could take her on as a client to invest and manage her money.”

In December of 2024, Bank of America conducted an internal investigation and told the victim that Martinez was funneling her money.

After finding out what was happening, Bank of America and the victim reported the scheme to MDSO.

During Martinez’s court appearance on Wednesday, a judge denied him bond.

Bank of America released the following statement:

“Whenever we learn of potential wrongdoing, we promptly investigate. Putting clients first and protecting client assets have been guiding principles since our founding more than 100 years ago.”