
DATE: Friday, June 20, 1997                 TAG: 9706200712

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B5   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY LYNN WALTZ, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: NORFOLK                           LENGTH:  101 lines

MAN SCAMS ELDERLY WOMAN, GETS MONEY - AND PRISON TIME

To the 90-year-old woman, he seemed like such a nice young man. So sweet. So polite. So concerned. So believable.

He lured her with the promise of a $130,000 check in prize money: Wouldn't it be a wonderful legacy for a 90-year-old woman to leave that amount to her children when she died?

There was just one small hitch. The nice young man who called himself Chris Hammond was actually a con man.

To free up the prize money, the elderly woman from Williamsburg just needed to send a little money to cover fees and taxes, he told her.

By the time her children realized what had happened, the woman's brokerage firm had liquidated $200,000 in investments over three years. The money was gone and she had nothing to show for it.

Thursday, the nice young man - whose real name is Todd Jacob Sherman - was sentenced in federal court to the maximum 41 months for wire fraud.

``Good. He deserved it,'' the woman said in a phone interview Thursday. ``It was stupid beyond belief. I look back now and wonder how I could have done such a stupid thing. . . . I'm not brand-new. I'm 90 years old.'' The woman did not want to be identified.

Sherman befriended the woman, posing as someone trying to help her get her the money she had won, the woman's daughter said.

Over three years, Sherman called with new excuses, asking for small amounts that added up. Eventually, nearly 500 money wires would be sent. The total amount could not be determined by investigators. Sherman is legally responsible for about $70,000 of it.

The woman sent so much money there may be no inheritance left. She bounced checks, had to move, and pawned family heirlooms to pay expenses, her daughter said.

``She was gullible. She was raised in a time when you could trust people and their word was their bond,'' her daughter said. ``She was independent and closed-mouthed about her money. When things began to unravel, she didn't want to tell me.''

It took her two angry children and an FBI agent to convince the woman that Sherman was no friend. Evntually, she worked with the FBI to snag him, taping conversations and wiring money to Fort Lauderdale, Fla. On Feb. 20, when Sherman tried to get the money from Western Union using their agreed upon codes - blue or angel - FBI agents caught him.

Sherman threw the money - roughly $400 in cash - into the air. When asked if he knew the elderly woman, Sherman said that he had talked to her before, ``maybe a few thousand times,'' federal officials said.

Thursday, Sherman, 25, blamed a voracious drug habit for what he had done. He started using drugs when he was 8, he said. He told the judge that he was a good person with a drug addiction, not a criminal.

Federal Judge Rebecca Beach Smith did not agree.

``I rarely see someone as young as you with as much criminal history,'' she said. ``It takes up 14 pages. You are flat-out a criminal and, you're right, there's no excuse.''

Federal prosecutor Bob Krask said Sherman's extensive history showed his unwillingness to buck his drug habit. Smith ordered Sherman into drug and mental health counseling.

Meanwhile, his victim, who had never once worried about money, is coming to grips with dwindling resources and personal loss.

``He kept telling me I would have that check,'' she said. ``He told me over and over. I wanted to send it to my broker to invest for my children. He was always so polite, nice and well-spoken.''

Like many victims of con artists, the woman rationalized each time she sent a payment, thinking it would be her last and she would get the prize.

``I think she really knew she had given this man a lot of money,'' her daughter said. ``Toward the end, she thought, another $100 doesn't make any difference.''

Apparently, Sherman shared so many personal things with the woman, he dropped clues that led to his capture. At one point, he told her his mother's name. The woman remembered and told the FBI.

``She was a very independent woman, old school,'' said FBI agent Chris O'Donnell. ``She believed her affairs were no one else's business. In that case, there's not much you can do.

``Adults can spend their money however they want and if they want to give it away to rapscallions, there's not much children can do. But hopefully, if you keep involved in your parents' lives, you can help keep them from getting set up.'' ILLUSTRATION: Drawing

Todd Jacob Sherman conned a woman, now 90, out of most of her

wealth.

His return: 41 months.

Graphic

AVOIDING RIPOFFS

Elderly adults living alone are often the targets of telephone

scams. Experts say that keeping family members or friends informed

about unexpected or suspicious phone calls from strangers is one of

the best ways to avoid being duped.

Some tips:

First, be skeptical.

Tell your children if you are suspicious of telephone solicitors.