A pistillate who constabulary accidental befriended a Las Vegas elder has been charged with stealing much than $230,000 from the victim’s slope accounts and besides trying to bargain her home, constabulary and tribunal records show.
A nine-month probe led to the apprehension of Diana Mendez, 31, earlier this month. She is charged with 2 counts of theft worth $100,000 oregon greater, attempted theft, and 2 counts of exploiting an older oregon susceptible person.
Mendez’s defence attorney, Steven Altig, declined remark connected this story. Mendez denied immoderate wrongdoing successful interviews with police.
A Metropolitan Police Department apprehension study for Mendez, who was jailed May 14, besides identifies her arsenic Diana Marcella Mendez-Hernandez. A constabulary impermanent custody grounds identifies her arsenic a national of Mexico.
The victim, listed successful constabulary and tribunal records arsenic Selina Milroy-Hayes, 79, declined remark done her civilian attorney, Jared Jennings, who said his client’s beingness savings was stolen successful what helium called “elder abuse.”
“She took each of her money, past took her location and was going to propulsion her retired connected the street,” Jennings said. “What benignant of idiosyncratic does that?”
Police archetypal started investigating Mendez successful August 2025 erstwhile Milroy-Hayes reported the suspected thefts to police. Police said Milroy-Hayes told them she met Mendez aft receiving a station paper successful the message offering assistance to refinance her Las Vegas home, and she was nether the content Mendez was an attorney.
Milroy-Hayes and Mendez soon became friends, constabulary said, and Milroy-Hayes said Mendez helped the elder acceptable up car wage for her bills due to the fact that Milroy-Hayes was having occupation utilizing a banking app.
Milroy-Hayes told constabulary astatine times Mendez asked for wealth to assistance her with household and bills, and Milroy-Hayes said she “can complaint it connected the card.” Over time, though, Milroy-Hayes said she noticed she was nary longer receiving slope statements and her message cardinal was missing.
264 transfers
Milroy-Hayes grew suspicious successful July and aboriginal checked connected the presumption of her slope accounts. Police said she recovered Mendez sent herself unauthorized Zelle transfers from the senior’s slope accounts. A slope typical told told her Mendez had “made herself an authorized idiosyncratic for each her funds,” the study said. Police would aboriginal accidental Mendez sent herself 264 Zelle transfers betwixt February 2024 and July 2025.
A slope manager told her Mendez had made herself the payee connected Milroy-Hayes’ slope accounts if Milroy-Hayes were to walk away, constabulary said. Police said 1 of Milroy-Hayes’ slope accounts did person a enactment listing Mendez arsenic having powerfulness of lawyer implicit Milroy-Hayes.
Jennings confirmed Milroy-Hayes signed a powerfulness of lawyer to Mendez due to the fact that she told the elder “that’s however she could assistance her.”
Police recovered Mendez received $130,977 successful unauthorized transactions from Milroy-Hayes’ accounts successful 2024 and $101,817 successful 2025.
Police said their probe besides showed Milroy-Hayes astatine 1 constituent received a cheque into 1 of her slope accounts for $202,927 from the Nevada State Controller’s Office, which handles unclaimed spot payments. Jennings said the cheque from the authorities that Milroy-Hayes received stemmed from her family’s ownership successful a home.
Milroy-Hayes told constabulary she understood the cheque was a outgo that Mendez helped her get from the authorities for unclaimed property. Within days of the cheque clearing, constabulary said they observed ample slope transfers of the wealth to different account, which was redacted by authorities. Police said astir the aforesaid clip they noticed accrued transactions of wealth into a concern relationship belonging to Mendez.
Police besides learned Milroy-Hayes’ location had precocious been deeded to a existent property capitalist arsenic portion of a pending merchantability of the location for $295,000. Milroy-Hayes, upon learning this, hired Jennings to initiate civilian proceedings to get backmost her house. Police said erstwhile the existent property capitalist was contacted by some Jennings and constabulary astir the location transaction, helium walked distant from the woody and Milroy-Hayes kept her residence.
A notary who initially notarized the merchantability of the location told constabulary Mendez had presented her with a powerfulness of lawyer papers “on behalf of the seller,” constabulary said. Police said Mendez signed the transaction connected behalf of Milroy-Hayes, noting successful the signature she was Milroy-Hayes’ “attorney successful fact.”
The capitalist besides told constabulary Mendez had told him the merchantability was for the payment of Milroy-Hayes.
“Milroy-Hayes maintained that she ne'er sold her house, nor did she springiness anyone support to bash truthful connected her behalf,” constabulary said.
Police said they archetypal spoke with Mendez implicit the telephone successful August 2025. Mendez she said she’d obtained powerfulness of lawyer implicit Milroy-Hayes due to the fact that the elder was “suffering from aboriginal onset dementia and was having a hard clip with regular tasks.”
When asked astir the Zelle transfers, Mendez said they were for compensation arsenic Milroy-Hayes’ caregiver and she was expected to person $5,000 a month, but Mendez past acknowledged she was not a licensed caregiver, constabulary said.
“She didn’t instrumentality attraction of her,” Jennings said. “They didn’t person immoderate statement similar that.”
Mendez told constabulary transfers from Milroy-Hayes’ accounts into her concern relationship were to wage owe and inferior payments connected behalf of Milroy-Hayes. Police, however, said an investigation of the slope accounts aboriginal showed Milroy-Hayes’ owe and inferior payments were made from the senior’s accounts and not Mendez’s concern account.
Mendez claimed she informed Milroy-Hayes of the location merchantability implicit the telephone and that this was each she needed to bash to implicit the merchantability due to the fact that she had obtained powerfulness of lawyer implicit Milroy-Hayes. She produced for constabulary 2 notarized documents that gave her powerfulness of lawyer and designation arsenic a wellness attraction agent.
Police acceptable up an interrogation with Mendez but she asked it beryllium rescheduled and told investigators the adjacent time that she had retained an attorney.
Police arrested Mendez connected May 14. Upon her arrest, they work her her Miranda rights and questioned her astir her earlier relationship that she was expected to person $5,000 a period from Milroy-Hayes, noting her slope accounts showed her receiving acold more. She said the wealth was “for other services she provided,” constabulary said.
Police asked astir the location sale. Mendez claimed the existent property capitalist was going to let Milroy-Hayes to enactment successful her location arsenic it was renovated if the merchantability had gone through. Asked for paperwork detailing this, Mendez said determination wasn’t any, constabulary said.
Police asked astir the much than $200,000 deposit into Milroy-Hayes’ relationship from the authorities of Nevada.
Mendez, constabulary said, “began to reply and past stated she wanted a lawyer mid-sentence.”
Clark County Detention Center records bespeak Mendez is nary longer successful custody astatine the jail. Las Vegas Justice Court records amusement a $165,000 surety enslaved was posted May 15.
A preliminary proceeding for Mendez is scheduled for July 6.
Contact Glenn Puit astatine gpuit@reviewjournal.com.
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