{"id":267377,"date":"2026-06-15T14:47:05","date_gmt":"2026-06-15T14:47:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/267377\/"},"modified":"2026-06-15T14:47:05","modified_gmt":"2026-06-15T14:47:05","slug":"bronx-woman-accused-of-siphoning-156k-meant-for-palm-beach-gardens-elder-care","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/267377\/","title":{"rendered":"Bronx woman accused of siphoning $156K meant for Palm Beach Gardens elder care"},"content":{"rendered":"

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 A New York<\/a> woman is facing a felony charge in a case tied to an assisted living facility in Palm Beach Gardens, where investigators say an elderly woman was left without the funds meant to pay for her care.<\/p>\n

Crystal Olga Terry Gonzalez, 38, of the Bronx, was charged with exploitation of an elderly or disabled adult, according to a Coral Springs Police Department<\/a> probable cause affidavit. <\/p>\n

According to investigators, the case began in 2021 when the elderly woman sold her condominium in Hialeah as she prepared to move into an assisted living facility in Palm Beach Gardens. The goal was straightforward: use the proceeds from the sale to help cover the cost of her monthly care. <\/p>\n

The sale closed on April 6, 2021, at a Coral Springs title company, and the woman received a check for $156,295.82. Authorities say that same day, the money was deposited into two joint JPMorgan Chase<\/a> accounts opened in both the victim’s name and Gonzalez\u2019s name. <\/p>\n

Investigators say that is where the situation began to unravel.<\/p>\n

According to the affidavit, Gonzalez went on to open additional accounts and transfer large portions of the sale proceeds into accounts she controlled, diverting money that had been intended for the woman\u2019s assisted living expenses in Palm Beach Gardens<\/a>. <\/p>\n

At first, payments were made to the facility. But police said those payments were short-lived.<\/p>\n

The assisted living facility cost about $3,000 a month. Investigators say payments eventually dropped to about $1,053 \u2014 roughly the amount of the woman\u2019s Social Security <\/a>income \u2014 instead of using the sale proceeds to cover the full amount. That left a growing unpaid balance, which eventually exceeded $26,000. <\/p>\n

See also: Fire kills four dogs locked in WPB shed; more animals found living in squalor<\/a><\/p>\n

Detectives say the money was being spent elsewhere.<\/p>\n

Bank records cited in the investigation show more than $63,000 was spent on personal purchases rather than for the woman\u2019s care. Between October 2021 and January 2022 alone, investigators documented numerous transactions in the New York and New Jersey area. <\/p>\n

According to the affidavit, those purchases included spending at Foot Locker, Marshalls, Walgreens, Dollar General, Walmart, Subway, the New York transit system, McDonald\u2019s, Feel Beauty, GNC, Dunkin\u2019, Home Depot, Forever 21, H&M, JCPenney, Olive Garden, Target and Best Buy. Additional purchases were made at U-Haul, Burlington, Rite Aid, Old Navy, BP gas stations, Firehouse Deli, Boston Market and other businesses.<\/p>\n

Investigators also found that visits to the Palm Beach Gardens facility did not match the spending activity. Records show Gonzalez stopped visiting in October 2021, even as transactions continued.<\/p>\n

\"Crystal<\/p>\n

Crystal Olga Terry Gonzalez, 38, of the Bronx, was charged with exploitation of an elderly or disabled adult, according to a Coral Springs Police Department probable cause affidavit. (PBC Jail)<\/p>\n

Medical professionals involved in the case determined the woman suffered from advanced dementia, making her especially vulnerable and reliant on others to manage her finances and care, according to the report. <\/p>\n

For investigators, the central issue is where the money was supposed to go. They say the condo sale was meant to ensure the woman could afford stable care in Palm Beach Gardens. Instead, they allege much of that money was redirected for personal use.<\/p>\n

Palm Beach County jail records show Gonzalez was booked into custody on June 14, just after midnight. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 A New York woman is facing a felony charge in a case…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":267378,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[128,9,24,63,129,131,130],"class_list":["post-267377","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-the-bronx","tag-bronx","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-the-bronx","tag-the-bronx-headlines","tag-the-bronx-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267377","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=267377"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267377\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/267378"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=267377"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=267377"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=267377"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}