Former Lyft driver accused of stealing $18K from blind woman

ATLANTA — Channel 2 Action News has learned police are investigating a potential scam artist who drove for Lyft.

Since losing her right leg to diabetes in 2014, Cassie Mitchell has relied on her husband to drive her around town.

But last September, her nurse ordered her a Lyft driver to take her to dialysis treatment at the Greenbriar Mall in southwest Atlanta.

“He was the perfect gentleman,” Mitchell said of the driver who picked her up.

The 67-year-old woman said it was the driver's charm that persuaded her to negotiate an under-the-table deal with him. She agreed to pay him to drive her to all of her appointments without going through the Lyft app.

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“I said I would give him $100-$150 per month,” Mitchell said. “Take me to the grocery store, like Walmart or Dollar Tree."

But according to these banking records, the so-called trusted caretaker was helping himself to Mitchell's savings. She's now out $18,000.

“He quit coming to pick me up on Sundays to go to church. He quit doing everything that me and him used to do together," Mitchell said. “I feel horrible. I feel violated."

She's hoping police will catch up with him before he strikes again.

"He needs to be put away so he can’t keep preying on people like me," Mitchell said. “I never would have thought he would do me like this.”

Channel 2 Action News is not naming the subject because he has not been charged. But according to the Atlanta Police Department, the man is also accused of adding his own vehicle to Mitchell's insurance policy.

A spokesman for Lyft has confirmed that the driver is no longer with the ride-share company, adding drivers and riders should never conduct business without using the app.

Cox Media Group