The 26-year-old has been jailed and is being accused of defrauding her husband.

It was last summer when 77-year-old Richard Rappaport, a businessman in Tampa, tied the knot with 26-year-old Lin Halfon. But after just a few months of being married, news sources are saying Rappaport has filed for divorce and is claiming he is a victim of fraud. Apparently, Halfon attempted to cash a $1 million check at Amscot from her husband's bank account.

Whether Halfon's husband approved of her taking out such a large lump sum of cash is unknown.

Fox News 13 says that after Halfon approached employees at Amscot and requested that the check be cashed, they grew suspicious and refused to perform the transaction. Halfon was said to have returned several times after attempting to cash checks that were written for smaller amounts. The woman allegedly offered to pay Amscot double the interest if they cashed her checks. It was after this that a criminal investigation was opened.

Shortly after her unsuccessful attempts at cashing the checks, Halfon was arrested and charged with money laundering, exploitation of the elderly, and organized fraud charges, and she is being held on a $1 million bond. While court documents are accusing the woman of being "eager to get her hands on the money," her attorney has defended her by saying this was a "consensual transaction between a husband and wife" and that his client had a legal right to the cash.

The woman's lawyer went on to tell news sources that once all this "shakes out in the courts, it's not what it's reported to be." He said that "this was not a spur-of-the-moment, let's get married, give me all your money type of thing. This was a marriage and a courtship and a relationship over time." Because this is still a developing story, you can expect news sources to provide additional information as it is disclosed.

Are all assets subject to division if a marriage only lasted a few months?

When a couple decides to file for divorce in Tampa, FL, the court will follow what is called equitable distribution. What this means is that marital assets and debts will be divided equally amongst both parties, but that doesn't necessarily mean the court will divide the assets down the middle. Before the court decides who gets what, it will take the following factors into account:

• The contribution of each spouse to the marriage.
• The duration of the marriage.
• The economic circumstances of each spouse.

Now, if you're thinking about filing for divorce in Tampa, FL and want to be sure your assets are protected from equitable division, contact The Law Offices of Yeazell and Sweet at 813-956-2224 so that you can retain an experienced Tampa, FL family law attorney to represent you.

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