Stanley woman sentenced for financial exploitation

A Stanley woman appeared in North Central District Court on Thursday to plead guilty and be sentenced to supervised probation for exploiting a position of trust in her role as a co-guardian of her elderly father.  

Johnna E. Westby, 60, Stanley, entered her change of plea before Judge Gary Lee, pleading guilty in connection to complaints brought by her family members and investigators with the Bureau of Criminal Investigation.

According to court documents, the matter related to the estate of the late Myron Johnson of Stanley. Before his death, Johnson’s daughters petitioned the court for an emergency guardianship, which was granted by District Judge Stacy Louser on Nov. 10, 2021. Of his four daughters, two were eventually named co-guardians, Mallory Johnson and Johnna Westby.

Westby was elevated to the position by her sister due to living closer to their father, which made her more available to make financial and business decisions on his behalf.

Westby aroused her sister’s suspicions after wire transferring $40,000 of her father’s money that she said was for the purchase of a truck to pull his boat. It was eventually discovered that the money had been used to pay off an auto loan for Johnna’s son Joshua Westby, who was under the impression his mother had gotten the money out of her own personal retirement account.

The BCI determined that between three banking and trust accounts, $79,593 was spent with no known benefit to Myron Johnson. Transactions ranged from purchases for clothing, jewelry, toys and home supplies to rent payments and ATM debits..

Lee deferred imposition of sentence for Westby, imposing three years of supervised probation. Westby will be required to pay $2,025 in court fines and fees along with $77,100 in restitution to her father’s estate. 

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Stanley woman sentenced for financial exploitation