LAS CRUCES, N.M. (KRQE) – A New Mexico man has been convicted of swindling a California woman out of more than $60,000 by convincing her to invest in a fake salsa business.
A Las Cruces jury found Eduardo Triste guilty of fraud and embezzlement after he struck up a phone relationship with the 70-year-old woman, who worked in a call center. Investigators say the 55-year-old represented himself as a major in the Marines, saying he had been a prisoner of war alongside John McCain.
Two months into the relationship, he got her to start giving him money for what turned out to be a non-existent salsa company. Instead, he used the cash to repay the money he stole in a previous fraud case.
Triste faces up to 13 years in prison when he’s sentenced.
