Dina Wein-Reis – the rich mother of three charged in a purported $20 million charity scam – is reportedly airing her dirty laundry in a desperate bid to have her trial moved to her home state. The Upper West Side socialite faces the gavel wielders in Indiana, where several of the companies that she’s accused of duping are based, reports the New York Daily News.
In court papers filed Wednesday, Wein-Reis, 44, claims that she, two of her sons and her parents are absolutely sick over this alleged chicanery, and they should all be in New York to take good care of one another. Wein-Reis is accused of wining and dining Fortune 500 companies out of millions by convincing them to sell her deeply discounted goods that she claimed would go to charities, schools and Indian reservations, reports the Daily News. Instead, prosecutors say, the goods were resold to wholesalers and retailers at a steep markup.
While she may have had nerves of steel allegedly convincing her high-end clients, Wein-Reis admits in the court papers that her nerves are in a tizzy. She says she suffers “acute anxiety disorder” and since the arrest has “debilitating panic attacks,” reports the New York Post.
The health of her children is suffering too, according to the papers. She said her 14-year-old son is epileptic and his condition has worsened, the Post reveals the papers say. He has “begun therapy for the first time in his life,” the Post reports. Wein-Reis says her oldest son, 18, was recently diagnosed with acute depression. Then there are her NY-bound parents, who she says are sick and need her care.
If Wein-Reis is tried in Indiana, she will not only leave behind her parents, but her $30 million mansion and her reported $35 million art collection — including an Andy Warhol portrait of Truman Capote — as well.
Wein-Reis was arrested in late October and is free on a $10 million bail.
