Bethany Man Charged For Allegedly Scamming 88-Year-Old Neighbor

Oklahoma County prosecutors have charged a Bethany man with exploitation of the elderly. According to court documents, Blake Barton, 42, allegedly scammed his elderly neighbor out of nearly $140,000. The 88-year-old Bethany man thought he was helping a si

Wednesday, August 7th 2019, 7:36 pm

By: News 9


Oklahoma County prosecutors have charged a Bethany man with exploitation of the elderly. 

According to court documents, Blake Barton, 42, allegedly scammed his elderly neighbor out of nearly $140,000.

The 88-year-old Bethany man thought he was helping a sick child. He asked News 9 to not use his name or show his face out of fear he would fall prey to another scammer.

“Yeah, he’s a con man from the word go,” said victim.

The Army veteran described the man who lived down the street from him. He became friends with Barton last year.

“I guess it started as when he borrowed some money from me,” said victim. “That’s what started it, and then stories to go with it.”

Court documents show Barton told him he "needed the money for his sick child."

The elderly man gave Barton checks and cash. Earlier this year, the victim's daughter learned of the alleged scam after reviewing her father’s financial records.

“She saw where I had kept track of how much money he had taken and so forth,” said victim. “And we started talking about it.”

His daughter reported Barton's actions to Bethany police. Investigators eventually arrested the man on his neighbor's front porch.

“We’ve dealt with Blake Barton for several years at this police department,” said Lt. Angelo Orefice, Bethany Police Department.

Orefice said Barton allegedly scammed elderly relatives out of nearly $25,000.

“Somehow he was able to get her account information and checks and cash those checks,” said Orefice. “Basically, conned her out of helping him while he’s in rehab but he wasn’t in rehab.”

Six months after Barton was arrested and charged for that crime, he started "borrowing" money from his elderly neighbor.

Despite being charged multiple times, police do not think Barton will stop.

“I’m sure there’s other people getting hit just like I did with this type of thing,” said victim.

Barton lived with his mother during the investigations. Police said his mother passed away while he was in jail for the most recent scam.

","published":"2019-08-08T00:36:31.000Z","updated":"2019-08-08T00:36:29.000Z","summary":"Oklahoma County prosecutors have charged a Bethany man with exploitation of the elderly. According to court documents, Blake Barton, 42, allegedly scammed his elderly neighbor out of nearly $140,000. The 88-year-old Bethany man thought he was helping a si","affiliate":{"_id":"5cc353fe1c9d440000d3b70f","callSign":"kwtv","origin":"https://www.news9.com"},"contentClass":"crime","createdAt":"2020-01-31T18:35:17.095Z","updatedAt":"2022-03-30T20:32:30.316Z","__v":2,"show":true,"link":"/story/5e347365527dcf49dad70406/bethany-man-charged-for-allegedly-scamming-88yearold-neighbor","hasSchedule":false,"id":"5e347365527dcf49dad70406"};
logo

Get The Daily Update!

Be among the first to get breaking news, weather, and general news updates from News 9 delivered right to your inbox!

More Like This

August 7th, 2019

March 22nd, 2024

March 14th, 2024

February 9th, 2024

Top Headlines

March 28th, 2024

March 28th, 2024

March 28th, 2024

March 28th, 2024