Ex-bronx co-op board president repays $120k stolen from 93-year-old neighbor

BRONX — A former Bronx co-op board president has repaid over $120,000 after pleading guilty to stealing the life savings of her 93-year-old neighbor, who had entrusted her with managing check payments while hospitalized.

Majia-Leena Frayer, 74, of St. Petersburg, Florida, admitted to one count of grand larceny in the fourth degree on May 21. She was sentenced Tuesday to a three-year conditional discharge by Bronx Supreme Court Justice Timothy Lewis, according to Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark.

Frayer was the president of the co-op board at Varma Cooperative Home at 828 Gerard Avenue, where she and the victim lived. Authorities said the victim, who had limited English literacy, asked Frayer to assist with writing maintenance checks during a hospital stay in February 2021.

Instead, Frayer began withdrawing funds from the account, eventually writing checks totaling $120,263 over a span of seven months while the woman was in a nursing home. The victim died in November.

“This defendant took advantage of a 93-year-old woman in the hospital, who struggled to read and write in English,” District Attorney Clark said. “The victim asked the defendant, who was the president of her co-op board, to write the checks for maintenance payments while she was sick.”

The victim’s nephew, who inherited her estate, discovered the missing funds and alerted authorities.

Frayer has since repaid the full amount as part of her plea deal.

A Bronx co-op president stole her elderly neighbor’s savings while she was hospitalized, then paid it back after pleading guilty.

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