HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — A Houston con artist was sentenced to 28 years in prison for scamming hundreds of thousands of dollars from a 68-year-old man with autism, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced.
The video above is from a previous related story on a separate “wobbly wheel” scam.
Paul Yonko, 39, was convicted of engaging in organized criminal activity following a three-day trial. After hearing testimony about his criminal past in the punishment phase, jurors gave him a sentence of 28 years, officials said.
“This is a career con artist who stole money from a senior citizen with a disability, and the law allows jurors to look at the totality of his scams and sentence him for everything he did,” Ogg said. “We are grateful to the jury for sending him to prison and, according to the law, he will have to serve at least half of his sentence before he is eligible for parole.”
ORIGINAL REPORT: Man wanted for stealing hundreds of dollars from man in fake car repair in Harris County
The DA’s office said Yonko and some of his extended family members, who have criminal records as scammers, spent three months in early 2022 swindling the 68-year-old victim, a retired man with an advanced degree in mathematics. The victim, who is diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, which is on the autism spectrum, is described as socially awkward and reportedly thought the family had befriended him, according to Ogg.
Yonko and two women reportedly first approached the victim at a grocery…
