Cabbie charged with swindling man of more than $600,000

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A one-time taxi driver who befriended a wealthy antiques dealer must remain jailed before his trial on charges of swindling the elderly man out of more than $600,000, a federal judge ruled.

Ringling Dan Cohn, 55, was indicted and arrested last week on 15 counts alleging he manipulated Griffith Coombs into turning over control of his financial affairs, then tapped various accounts to make expensive purchases for himself and friends and to gamble.

Cohn has pleaded not guilty and was ordered to remain in federal custody following a detention hearing Tuesday in U.S. District Court.

Coombs died in 2005 at age 87 at a Kansas City hospital, two weeks after the state removed him from a basement apartment in Cohn's home.

In a federal court matter seven years ago, Cohn told a judge he made about $1,500 a month driving a taxi in Kansas City.

Then, in 2003, he met Coombs, who lived alone in an apartment near Kansas City's Country Club Plaza. Coombs became one of Cohn's regular fares.

Hospitalized after a fall in June 2003, Coombs entered a long-term care facility near the Plaza where he was often visited by Cohn, who, according to court records, presented himself as Coombs' "caretaker."

The next year, Cohn moved Coombs out of the care center and into the basement bedroom of a home on the city's east side that Cohn shared with his girlfriend.

Cohn's lifestyle improved steadily as Coombs signed documents naming Cohn as the beneficiary of his will, giving Cohn authority to sign legal documents in his name and adding Cohn as a signatory on his bank accounts, records say.

Cohn paid more than $87,000 for a 2004 Hummer H2 and a 2005 Chrysler 300. Detectives testified Monday that Cohn's house was full of new furniture and big-screen television sets, and that Cohn and his girlfriend lost more than $150,000 gambling at casinos.