WEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - A South Florida family said they entrusted someone to invest their hard-earned money. Instead, they were tricked out of thousands of dollars, and police said there could be more victims.

Speaking with 7News on Friday, Emma Avila said she was scammed by a fraudster.

“He took my money, without doing anything,” she said,

Miami-Dade Police officers took Diego Vera into custody earlier this month. Cellphone video captured the arrest.

Detectives busted the 49-year-old for allegedly conning Avila, a 20-year mail carrier for the United States Postal Service, out of several thousand dollars.

Avila showed 7News her bank statements, pointing to what she said were payments to the suspect.

The victim said Vera pretended to work for a law firm, and she met him through a co-worker.

“I trust him because he’s been married with my co-worker, I know her for 10 years, so I didn’t see nothing suspicious,” she said.

But when she kept sending him money to fund the arrangement of a will, Avila said, she never saw any work done and kept getting excuses.

Following his arrest on charges of organized scheming to defraud and grand theft, Vera appeared before Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Mindy S. Glazer on Feb. 7.

“So he sold himself out to be an attorney who does estate planning, and he was going to prepare a trust for the victim,” said Glazer.

“Out on probation in Broward County,” said a prosecutor.

Investigators said Vera has more scamming charges on his plate, including out of the City of Miami.

Miami Police Officer Michael Vega released a statement that reads in part, “We are investigating a ‘scheme to defraud case, in which Diego Vera is the accused. The case is open and actively being investigated.”

Avila said the Miami case involves her son, who was ripped off for $5,000 when Vera, once again as a man who worked at a law firm, said he’d help close out an account for the family but needed money.

Avila said she called the firm where they were told Vera worked.

“[They said] he never worked there, they don’t know that person, he’d never be a client,” she said.

“Doesn’t work for an attorney, he’s not an attorney,” said Glazer.

Phony, fraudulent and full of it is how Avila describes Vera. Police call him a criminal defendant.

“They need to punish these men. They have to, they have to,” said Avila. “I mean, he’s been hitting so many people. There’s a lot of more victims. These guys have to be locked up.”

Vera has a hearing for this case scheduled for March.

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