Virgil Huber's neighbor pleaded guilty to two felony elder exploitation charges after his niece pursued the case in Madison County Circuit Court.
Sharon Deabler, now of Oakland, Fla., was living in O'Fallon, Ill., when she noticed a change in her uncle, who then lived in East Alton.
Huber's neighbor, Gladys "Roberta" Fillingim, entered the picture after she took him to the hospital when he cut two fingers while woodworking in 1999.
Eventually, Fillingim was charged in Madison County Circuit Court with four felonies - two counts of criminal neglect of an elderly person and two counts of unlawful financial exploitation of an elderly person. Fillingim pleaded guilty in September 2005 to the two financial exploitation charges in exchange for a prosecution agreement to drop the criminal neglect counts.
The court sentenced Fillingim to four years of probation to be served concurrently on each charge and ordered her to repay an estimated $257,000 that prosecutors said she had stolen from Huber. The court ordered Fillingim to pay $200 a month to Huber's estate, which was reduced to $100 a month when her husband died.
Fillingim, who was 73 at the time of her plea, could have faced up to 30 years in prison, but prosecutors agreed not to seek prison time because of her age, poor health and the fact that she agreed to make restitution.
Deabler became Huber's legal guardian after the court determined that Huber was victimized by Fillingim. Huber then moved to Florida, where he turned 88 in April, to live with his niece and her husband.
Deabler went through eight attorneys before finding the appropriate one who helped arrange the successful prosecution of Fillingim.
Full Article and Source:
East Alton elder was exploited
Sharon Deabler, now of Oakland, Fla., was living in O'Fallon, Ill., when she noticed a change in her uncle, who then lived in East Alton.
Huber's neighbor, Gladys "Roberta" Fillingim, entered the picture after she took him to the hospital when he cut two fingers while woodworking in 1999.
Eventually, Fillingim was charged in Madison County Circuit Court with four felonies - two counts of criminal neglect of an elderly person and two counts of unlawful financial exploitation of an elderly person. Fillingim pleaded guilty in September 2005 to the two financial exploitation charges in exchange for a prosecution agreement to drop the criminal neglect counts.
The court sentenced Fillingim to four years of probation to be served concurrently on each charge and ordered her to repay an estimated $257,000 that prosecutors said she had stolen from Huber. The court ordered Fillingim to pay $200 a month to Huber's estate, which was reduced to $100 a month when her husband died.
Fillingim, who was 73 at the time of her plea, could have faced up to 30 years in prison, but prosecutors agreed not to seek prison time because of her age, poor health and the fact that she agreed to make restitution.
Deabler became Huber's legal guardian after the court determined that Huber was victimized by Fillingim. Huber then moved to Florida, where he turned 88 in April, to live with his niece and her husband.
Deabler went through eight attorneys before finding the appropriate one who helped arrange the successful prosecution of Fillingim.
Full Article and Source:
East Alton elder was exploited
3 comments:
Pretty scary. We tend to trust our neighbors and it's so sad to hear they could be vultures too.
Eight attorneys? I'd like to say "incredible," but they are becoming lower than low!
I am pleased the niece became the guardian instead of a third party.
Post a Comment