Scammed Out of Her Life Savings, This 74-Year-Old Admits To Robbing a Bank

When police arrested 74-year-old Ann Mayers for robbing an Ohio credit union at gunpoint, the story quickly took an unexpected turn. Mayers, who had no prior criminal record, confessed to the crime after allegedly losing her life savings to an online scam—a claim her family supports.

“I think she told me she stole a candy bar once, but other than that, she’s never stolen anything,” Fairfield Township police Sgt. Brandon McCroskey told CBS News affiliate WKRC. “[She] said she doesn’t know why she did it, just out of desperation.”  

The Mayers case shows the devastating impact financial fraud can have on vulnerable individuals and the extreme, sometimes criminal, measures some feel driven to take as a result.

How One Crime Led To Another

Ann Mayers’ family has said it believes she was the victim of an online scam that left her financially ruined and owing massive debts to her relatives and friends. They say the scammer claimed to be with U.S. Customs and had convinced Mayers to send thousands of dollars over time. Her sister Linda told investigators she had loaned Mayers $5,000, while a friend had provided an astounding $65,000 to help cover what Mayers believed were legitimate fees.

Robbery, Arrest, and Conviction

On April 19, 2024, Mayers took part in a decidedly old-school scam (see the chart above): She entered the AurGroup Credit Union in Fairfield Township wearing a dark gray sweater, light gray sweatpants, a patterned face mask, and glasses. She carried two bags, one containing a loaded handgun that had been passed down through her family. After brandishing the weapon and demanding money, she left with $500.

What happened next revealed both her desperation and her inexperience as a criminal. Mayers threw the clothes she had worn during the robbery out of her car window while driving home—an act that would later result in tampering with evidence charges. She had also attempted to disguise her 2014 silver Hyundai Elantra by removing the license plate and peeling off a bumper sticker.

Police responded to the scene at 1:29 p.m. and tracked Mayers to her Hamilton, Ohio, home less than two hours later, where they found her doing yardwork with her sister. Body camera footage captured her immediate and matter-of-fact confession. When officers arrived, Mayers said, “I did whatever you’re here for.” When asked to be more specific, she replied, “The robbery.”

Mayers had chosen to rob a branch of her credit union, though not the location where she usually conducted her banking.

Mayers faced a potential maximum sentence of 17.5 years in prison but was ultimately sentenced to 4-5.5 years after pleading guilty. She had already apologized to those who worked at the bank, and the judge considered her mental state and the circumstances that led to her desperate decision during sentencing.

The Bottom Line

Ann Mayers’ case shows how financial scams can push many into desperate, life-altering decisions. Her criminal actions are now subject to legal consequences but her story paints a picture of the psychological and financial toll scams can take on older adults.
It’s become “a very common theme, unfortunately, and tragically, we see a lot of that with [older adults] who are being scammed out of large amounts of money,” McCroskey said. “It seems like that very well could be the case here.”