Newport Beach police arrested a 76-year-old woman Jan. 12 for multiple felony counts of financial elder abuse, grand theft of an elder, and forgery, according to the California Department of Insurance.
Sally Nava Kanarek, of Huntington Beach, who worked as a life insurance agent from 2018 to 2021, allegedly forged checks to steal over $90,000 from an elderly client, who she was living with in 2020, according to the department.
Shortly after learning her roommate suffered from an unnamed medical condition, she allegedly acted as her “health care manager,” taking over her finances, knowing the victim did not have the capacity to consent to her work, according to the department.
Kanarek also allegedly sold the victim over $580,000 worth in two annuities—forms of insurance entitling the investor to receive a series of annual sum, typically for the rest of their life—which provided her with $7,800 in commission, authorities said.
Additionally, Kanarek is accused of attempting to sell the elderly victim’s home and withdraw over $110,000 in retirement savings.
Kanarek is currently being held in the Orange County Jail with a $50,000 bail, according to the department.
