WILKES-BARRE, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — Prosecutors say it's a case of betrayal in its worst form. A 95-year-old woman's lifelong home is sold out from under her by a person she trusted.
Testimony gets underway Wednesday morning in the trial of 35-year-old Jeremy Cieniawa of Hazleton.
Prosecutors say the victim trusted Cieniawa. She thought he was her friend. It turned out, they say, he was the proverbial "wolf in sheep's clothing."
"I'm very angry over this whole thing," said the great-niece of victim Allison Tomczyk.
Allison Tomczyk is the great-niece of the now 95-year-old woman who was allegedly scammed by Cieniawa.
Cieniawa hid his face with a large manila envelope as he was brought into the Luzerne County Courthouse Tuesday morning for jury selection for his trial.
Investigators say the scam started in 2021 when a friend of the victim convinced her to allow Cieniawa to move into her home, under the condition that he do repairs and maintenance at her Hazleton home.
Investigators say Cieniawaw posed as her nephew in October of 2022 and sold her home.
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He sold it for $77,000 and prosecutors say he spent all but $4,000 on himself. In November of that same year, he told her they had to move out immediately.
Her family says they knew something was wrong and began asking questions and contacting police.
"She felt like everybody was her friend and she didn't think that people would be mean. You know, he gained her trust and he violated that. It's very frustrating as a family to see that," Tomczyk said.
28/22 News spoke to the victim at a court hearing last year. We are not identifying her for safety reasons.
"Jermey said that the house was sold. He got the money but I never got it. I don't know what happened to it. Well, he had it and that's what happened. The house was sold and I didn't even know it was sold," the victim said.
"I hope he gets what he deserves. I mean, she's left with nothing, and I hope he gets what he deserves," Tomczyk added.
Tomcyzk advises other families with care-dependent loved ones to be vigilant and trust their gut feelings if they think something just isn't right.
Testimony begins Wednesday morning. Cieniawa faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted on numerous charges.
