#Middlebury #Veterans
Most of the time, a scammer of veterans will be given a prison sentence that is less than satisfactory to those of us who are following the story. A few years here or there, a monetary fine … it’s not enough.
But now and then, a sentence will come along that just feels right. This happened in a recent fraud case against a group of four criminals. One of the males received a sentence of 15 years. His stepson got almost six years. One of the female criminals got 20 years. But the last one, another woman, received a sentence of 47 years for her part in the crimes.
The group, calling itself a nonprofit corporation, acted as guardians, conservators and financial managers to those with special needs, including veterans. The 33-count indictment included money laundering, mail fraud, conspiracy and aggravated identity theft.
The criminals would either use a company credit card to make their purchases, knowing the company would pay it back out of client money, or write checks to themselves out of the account. Among the take were RVs, vacations, cars, cruises and more, to the tune of $11 million in client money … clients who suffered when they didn’t have enough money for expenses, care and food, and were sometimes left homeless.
What’s galling is that it could have been stopped as far back as 2012. The company’s tax accountant raised flags with their attorney, saying one of the women was using the client funds as her own personal ATM. But instead of going to the authorities, the accountant let himself be silenced by a threatening confidentiality agreement and a check for payment in full for his services.
Despite the short sentences the two men received, there is one thing that does make me smile. The head criminal, the woman who received a sentence of 47 years plus three years supervised release, is 74 years old.
© 2021 King Features Synd., Inc.
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