Thursday, April 27, 2023

Two Marion County Kentucky Women Sentenced for Elder Fraud Scheme


For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Kentucky

Louisville, KY – Two Marion County women were sentenced yesterday for their roles in an over $500,000 elder fraud scheme. Donna Jean Bradshaw, 57, of Lebanon, Kentucky, was sentenced to 48 months of imprisonment, followed by 48 months of supervised release. She was also ordered to pay restitution of $582,635. Tammy Lynn Gilbert, 49, of Bradfordsville, Kentucky, was sentenced to 5 years of supervised release, including 12 months of home incarceration, and was ordered to pay $10,000 in restitution and a $1,000 fine. 

U.S. Attorney Michael A. Bennett of the Western District of Kentucky and Special Agent in Charge Jodi Cohen of the FBI Louisville Field Office made the announcement.

According to court documents, between March 2013 and June 2016, Bradshaw, aided by Gilbert, engaged in multiple schemes to commit bank fraud and wire fraud. Bradshaw, with Gilbert’s aid, engaged in various means to defraud an elderly victim of funds, including creating a fictitious United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration mortgage loan reimbursement program and fabricating documents from a Louisville law firm to create the appearance of a fictitious inheritance.

Bradshaw pleaded guilty to two counts of bank fraud and eight counts of wire fraud on January 25, 2023. Gilbert pleaded guilty to two counts of bank fraud and eight counts of wire fraud on June 25, 2020. 

The case was investigated by the FBI Louisville Field Office. 

Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Weiser and Corrine Keel prosecuted the case.

This case was investigated and prosecuted as part of the National Elder Justice Task Force and the Kentucky Elder Justice Task Force. The Department of Justice’s mission of its Elder Justice Initiative is to support and coordinate the Department’s enforcement and programmatic efforts to combat elder abuse, neglect and financial fraud and scams that target our nation’s older adults. In response to the growing need and targeting areas of greatest concern, the Department of Justice initially stood up 10 task forces made up of 11 federal districts to combat a variety of elder abuse, including elder financial exploitation. Kentucky’s federal districts make up two of the 11 districts under the Initiative. Kentucky’s task force is comprised of investigators, prosecutors, and others at the local, state, and federal level with a common objective of protecting seniors across Kentucky.

In October, the Department announced that as part of its continuing efforts to protect older adults and bring perpetrators of fraud schemes to justice it is expanding the Transnational Elder Fraud Strike Force, adding 14 new U.S. Attorney’s Offices. Expansion of the Strike Force will help to coordinate the Department’s ongoing efforts to combat largest and most harmful fraud schemes that target or disproportionately impact older adults. 

To report elder fraud, for non-life-threatening emergencies, call the National Elder Fraud Hotline at 1-833-FRAUD-11 (or 833-372-8311).

Full Article & Source:
Two Marion County Kentucky Women Sentenced for Elder Fraud Scheme

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