DAVIE, Fla. – Hannah McDowell had several sick children and was having health problems herself and needed large sums of money from a Davie man so she could pay her bills and keep her children alive — or at least that’s what she told him, according to police.
But authorities say the 27-year-old made up a sob story in order to steal the senior’s money. Hannah McDowell, along with her husband, Zachary McDowell, 31, were booked into Broward County jail facilities on Friday.
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The couple, from Lehigh Acres in southwest Florida, is accused of taking more than $200,000 from the man.
Police said it all started in October 2020, when the victim posted an ad on Facebook seeking a housekeeper.
Hannah McDowell responded and the two became “friends,” a probable cause affidavit states.
The two never met face-to-face, but Hannah McDowell began telling him about her financial and health troubles, police said.
Authorities said the man first sent her money so she could move in with her grandparents, who she claimed were asking for rent; she later claimed to be moving in with a friend named “Sierra Yoder.”
Then came the sick kids, police said.
The affidavit states that over a period of several months, Hannah McDowell would ask for and accept financial help from the man because of “several hardships,” including children who were “ill and in the hospital” and a pending eviction.
“When (the victim) would ask for proof, Hannah would send him various pictures of children being treated in a hospital/medical facility as well as bills/invoices,” Davie police Detective Viviana Gallinal wrote in the affidavit. “Many of the invoices were for...astonishing balances.”
The man told police that he initially only sent a “few hundred dollars” but as time went by, the dollar amounts would increase substantially, police said.
The man said he wanted to “help Hannah and her children because of all their financial and health issues,” police wrote.
“Sometimes Hannah would tell (the victim) that if medical treatment was not immediately paid for, the treatment would not be administered and her child was going to die,” Gallinal wrote. “Hannah would send photos of children in hospital beds that appeared to be in deplorable health, with some appearing like the child was on some sort of life-support machine.”
But police said they later conducted a Google reverse image search and found that all of the photos were pulled from various websites.
“Some of the photos show children suffering from various ailments, including cystic fibrosis and one photo of a child named ‘Kycie’ who, according to (a news) article, was not expected to live,” Gallinal wrote. “Some of the photos are graphic and would cause any reasonable person to care or show compassion.”
Authorities said the man eventually contacted Lee Health, the supposed originator of the numerous, expensive medical bills; a staffer at the Fort Myers-based health system would confirm to the victim that the invoices were fake.
But that all came after the man had sent — via Zelle and Cash App — $228,561 to accounts controlled by Hannah and Zachary McDowell.
Police said surveillance videos show both withdrawing money from the accounts.
“There is no indication that any transactions were to pay for medical bills or medically related,” police wrote in the affidavit. “The vast majority of the purchases were for food, retail and other individuals.”
Lee County deputies arrested the McDowells on March 15, according to that county’s jail records, and extradited them to Broward County on Friday.
According to jail records, both husband and wife face charges of obtaining property of over $50,000 by fraud, first-degree grand theft and money laundering of $100,000 or more.
Hannah McDowell faces an additional charge of criminal use of personal identification information. As of Monday, she was being held in the North Broward Bureau jail facility, while Zachary McDowell was being held in the Broward Main Jail.
Hannah McDowell’s bond was set at $95,000, while Zachary McDowell’s bond was listed at $80,000.
If they’re able to come up with the bond amounts, both will have to show that their funds came from a legitimate source.