Swampscott man held for elderly fraud scam

SWAMPSCOTT – A Swampscott man was arraigned in Lynn District Court Thursday after he allegedly confessed to Lynn Police that he stole over $5,000 from an elderly woman with dementia by using her debit card for several months.Mikhail Perlin, 49, of 94 Redington St., was held without bail on five counts of larceny over $250 by a single scheme. According to a police report by Lynn Police Officer Thomas Morley, Perlin made at least 55 unauthorized transactions using a debit card belonging to a 71-year-old woman he met while working for Multicultural Services, where he told officers he “provided companionship, cleaning and shopping services for clients.”The woman, Galina Yanisherskay, formerly of Farrar Street in Lynn, suffers from severe dementia and has been living in a nursing home in Braintree since May 31, according to the report.Perlin told Lynn Police that he used to go grocery shopping with Yanisherskay, who apparently has no family, and that she would sometimes have him pay using her debit card. But charges made after she entered the nursing home aroused suspicion from the court-appointed conservator for Yanisherskay.The conservator, attorney Amber Cohen of Plymouth, requested the woman?s Eastern Bank account records on Nov. 11 and immediately noticed several discrepancies. The report said Yanisherskay receives monthly Social Security deposits that had been depleted in the months after she entered the hospital and moved to the nursing home.A second report filed by Lt. Thomas Reddy said the bank records indicate the majority of the transactions, made between March 11 and Nov. 21, were made at grocery stores, and a number were at Dunkin? Donuts or smaller convenience stores. Perlin also reportedly made four $500 withdrawals from the account.Reddy identified Perlin by obtaining photos from Eastern Bank of three ATM transactions using Yanisherskay?s debit card and had someone at Multicultural Services identify the man in all three photos.During an interview with Reddy, the report said, Perlin admitted to making ATM withdrawals and using Yanisherskay?s debit card to buy “cigarettes and stuff” after she went into the hospital and that the card had been “taken” by an ATM machine while he was attempting another ATM withdrawal.Perlin has a pre-trial hearing on March 1 and required the use of a Russian interpreter during his arraignment.Taylor Provost can be reached at [email protected].