Tour of a $55k home after $855k was paid for upgrades

ST. LOUIS – FOX 2 obtained exclusive access to a two-bedroom home on Pennsylvania Avenue in South City after nearly $1 million was paid to renovate it.

The 1950’s-era kitchen appears untouched, along with the worn, decades-old laminate, deteriorating wallpaper—some soiled from years of contact with the person who slept there. You can see punctured walls, cracked foundations, chipped tile, and a bathroom that defies description. The tub appears to be from the 1920s, with an ancient fixture remuddled with plastic tubing and clamps.

Sharon Pacie and Loretta Pritt are friends with the woman who lived there, a woman who has since died.

Pacie said, “Every time we would see her, we would ask how’s this coming along and she would say he found something else—he found something else.”

They couldn’t see for themselves for awhile because it was during COVID. Then, when they did visit, Pritt explained how filthy it was.

“This actually looks good,” Pacie said about what it looks like today. “When we got into this house, we could not breathe; there were mounds and mounds of papers and boxes.”

We’re not naming the 81-year-old victim, because the courts only identified her by her initials and she can’t give her consent since she’s now deceased.

The man accused of scamming her is 36-year-old Gino Rives, who pleaded guilty to bilking two seniors out of more than $1.1 million. More than $855,000 involved the South City home alone—a home that just sold for $55,000.

Rives was sentenced in June to seven years in prison for elder fraud. Before he went to prison, and immediately following his guilty plea, we caught up with him.

“I didn’t do nothing wrong. God knows the truth,” he told us.

Rives face is familiar to the victim’s neighbors. Fawn Montjoy said, “He would have tons of people with him. In and out—just in and out.”

Montjoy said the homeowner was so isolated that she was unable to intervene.

“She didn’t want any neighbor; she didn’t want anybody to be involved in her life. She didn’t want to join in on block parties,” Montjoy explained. “I wish I would have pushed harder. I don’t know if I could have done much, but I wish I would have.”

It’s unclear how Rives and the victim met, but it’s believed it began with a simple knock on her door.

Pritt said, “I think he got her at the right time where she saw somebody that would be here often, maybe take her to the bank and run errands for her and that’s probably how he got into her good wishes.”

Pacie added, “As we get older, we become more vulnerable to scams, whether it’s on the phone—I, myself, was involved in a phone scam and almost lost $5,000. It just breaks my heart that there are people out there that want to take advantage of their fellow human beings. I mean, they’re going to get there too.”

If you or someone you know is a victim of fraud or scamming, below is a list of resources to help.

Office for Victims of Crime – National Elder Fraud Hotline
1-833-372-8311
Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET

AARP – Fraud Watch Network Helpline
877-908-3360
Provides free, confidential discussion groups and watchdog alerts

Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services – Elder Abuse Hotline
1-800-392-0210
7 a.m. to midnight

Missouri Veterans Commission
1-866-838-4636
Different benefits, services available to eligible veterans and spouses

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 2.