Friday, April 24, 2009

Ordered to Pay Restitution

A woman pleaded guilty to stealing the $30,000 death benefit paid to her uncle following the death of his wife.

While friends and co-workers of the victim have suspicions that much more money was stolen by the niece over the years, police say they were only able to prove she took the $30,000.

The police determined that between April 1, 2007, and July 31, 2007, Lisa Viola used cash withdrawals, ATM transactions, phone transactions and overdraft protection to access Alfred Viola's savings account and convert the funds to her personal use through her checking account.

Lisa Marie Viola was sentenced to seven years probation as part of the plea agreement and ordered to pay restitution of $24,099 to Guardian Services of Pennsylvania.

Full Article and Source:
Woman pleads guilty to stealing from uncle

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

7 years probation isn't anything - but if she really does pay restitution, I guess it's a trade off.

In most cases, restitution is never ordered, let alone paid.

wisernow said...

Probation? Oh, what a sweeeeeet deal.

Please, without spending time in a prison cell, these crooks, just don't get it. Give Lisa Viola the one thing everyone dreads - a prison cage!

Watch how this order of restitution plays out without a "stayed" sentence, the only available recourse to force the perp is a civil action. Good Luck collecting the stolen funds.

Anonymous said...

Ordered to pay and actually paying are two different things --- ie, OJ

Anonymous said...

Once the crook leaves the courtroom, the oh, poor me games begin with the crook almost always coming out...the WINNER when it comes to restitution.

Anonymous said...

Wisernow is right -- prison is a must. It gives them time to think and do some reflection (if there's any conscience at all).

StandUp said...

In reality, there is no resitution that makes up for what they've done.

Anonymous said...

$24,099 of the $30K gos to Guardian Services of PA? Pardon me? The article says she stole a $30K death benefit --- well, well, there's another story here. Why does the uncle owe almost $25K of the $30K to Guardian Services?

And how long did it take Guardian Services to rack up such a big bill?

Anonymous said...

Good point, last Anonymous. Why does the guardian have his/her hand out?