Cynthia Franke, Tyrone Javellana, South Florida couple, convicted of exploiting a 94-year-old woman

Cynthia Franke and her husband, Tyrone Javellana, each face up to 30 years in prison.
Photographer: BSO

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Posted: 03/20/2013

Associated Press

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- A South Florida couple has been convicted of exploiting a 94-year-old woman with dementia who prosecutors say disinherited her family and handed over her $10 million estate.

The Miami Herald reports Cynthia Franke and her husband, Tyrone Javellana, each face up to 30 years in prison. A jury on Tuesday found each of them guilty of one count of financial exploitation of an elderly person, which is a first-degree felony.

Franke and Javellana are from Hollywood. They work as a stockbroker and a financial planner.

Sentencing is set for April 19.

The Herald reports experts testified that Franke took the woman to her attorney in 2009 to change her will.

Her husband also faces an additional charge of exploiting the woman's now-deceased sister.

“Elderly abuse is a serious problem in this community and it will become even more serious as the population ages,” Richard Sherman, a prosecutor in the State Attorney’s Office Elderly Exploitation Unit wrote in a statement to the Miami Herald. “We will continue to aggressively prosecute elderly exploitation in our community to protect our seniors."