Charlotte Woman And Her Co-Conspirator Are Sentenced To Prison For Stealing $300,000 From An Elderly, Dementia-Afflicted Victim
June 15th Is World Elder Abuse Awareness Day
CHARLOTTE,
N.C. – Acting U.S. Attorney William T. Stetzer announced that a
Charlotte woman and one of her two co-conspirators were sentenced to
prison today for their involvement in a $300,000 embezzlement scheme
perpetrated on an elderly, dementia-afflicted victim.
Acting U.S. Attorney Stetzer is joined in making today’s announcement
by Robert R. Wells, Special Agent in Charge for the FBI in North
Carolina, Tommy D. Coke, Inspector in Charge of the of the Atlanta
Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), which oversees
Charlotte, and Chief Joseph Hatley of the Mint Hill Police Department.
U.S. District Judge Max O. Cogburn Jr. sentenced Donna Graves, 58, to
97 months in prison and two years of supervised release. On October 2,
2020, a federal jury convicted Graves of conspiracy to commit wire fraud
and money laundering conspiracy. Grave’s co-conspirator, Gerald Maxwell
Harrison, 54, of Mint Hill, N.C., was ordered to serve three years in
prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Harrison pleaded
guilty in May 2020, to wire fraud conspiracy, interstate transportation
of stolen property, and money laundering conspiracy. In addition to the
prison terms imposed, Judge Cogburn also ordered Graves and Harrison to
pay $298,407.85 as restitution, jointly and severally.
A third co-conspirator, Elizabeth Robin Williams, previously pleaded
guilty to wire fraud conspiracy, interstate transportation of stolen
property, and money laundering conspiracy and is currently awaiting
sentencing.
According to filed court documents, evidence presented at Graves’
trial and witness testimony, including testimony provided by Harrison,
from January 2015 through September 2019, Graves, who was the ringleader
of the criminal conspiracy, conspired with Williams and Harrison to
engage in a scheme to defraud a victim identified in court documents as
“K.T.” The victim was an elderly widow who lived alone and suffered from
dementia and other physical and mental challenges. During the relevant
time period, Graves and her co-conspirators exploited K.T.’s
vulnerabilities and defrauded the victim through a web of forged
documents, lies, and deceptions.
According to evidence presented at Graves’ trial, beginning in 2014,
Graves and Williams provided housekeeping services for the victim
through a business owned and operated by Graves. Over the course of the
scheme, the co-conspirators isolated the victim from her friends and
family, induced the victim to give them power and control over her
personal affairs, and fabricated a power of attorney purporting to give
Graves and Williams control over the victim’s financial affairs. Once
they gained access and control, Graves, Williams, and Harrison moved the
victim out of her residence in Indian Land, South Carolina, first to an
apartment in Charlotte, and later to a rental home in Mint Hill,
refusing to let the victim’s friends and family know where she was
living.
According to court records and trial testimony, Graves, Williams, and
Harrison engaged in numerous illegal and unauthorized financial
transactions that substantially depleted the victim’s money and
property. Specifically, the co-conspirators emptied the victim’s bank
accounts and used the money to pay for personal expenses, and “maxed
out” at least one credit card in the victim’s name. The co-conspirators
also fraudulently transferred or attempted to transfer the victim’s
Indian Land residence to themselves by creating a quit claim deed
purporting to gift the residence to Harrison; they then attempted to
sell the residence and intended to split the proceeds amongst each
other. They also pawned the victim’s jewelry, and they stole the
victim’s federal benefits. Additionally, Williams unlawfully used the
victim’s money to set up other businesses in her name, including a
business selling handbags online and a business selling weight
loss-related services. As a result of the fraudulent scheme, the
co-conspirators defrauded the victim of approximately $300,000.
According to court documents and information presented at today’s
sentencing hearing, over the course of the scheme, Graves and her
co-conspirators failed to provide the victim with proper medical care,
which greatly diminished the victim’s health. Furthermore, once the
victim’s money was depleted, the co-conspirators abandoned the victim,
who was later moved to a nursing home in New York, where she passed away
in large part due to the mental and physical deterioration she had
suffered in the hands of Graves and her co-conspirators.
In announcing Graves’s sentence, Judge Cogburn said the defendants
knew that the victim was vulnerable and that this was a shameful
manipulation of a person. Judge Cogburn also said the defendant’s made
“the last part of her (the victim’s) life the worst part of her life.”
Graves will be ordered to report to the federal Bureau of Prisons to
begin serving her sentence upon designation of a federal facility.
Harrison is currently in custody. A sentencing date for Williams has not
been set. Williams faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a
$250,000 fine for the wire fraud conspiracy charge carries. The
statutory maximum penalty for the money laundering conspiracy charge is
20 years in prison and a $500,000 fine, and the interstate
transportation of stolen property charge carries a maximum prison term
of 10 years and a $250,000 fine.
In making today’s announcement, Acting U.S. Attorney Stetzer
commended the Mint Hill Police Department, the FBI, and USPIS for their
investigation of this case.
Assistant United States Attorneys Kenneth M. Smith and Caryn D.
Finley, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, are prosecuting the
case.
June 15TH Is World Elder Abuse Awareness Day
June 15, 2021, is World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD). First
launched in 2006 by the International Network for the Prevention of
Elder Abuse and the World Health Organization at the United Nations, the
purpose of WEAAD is to raise awareness about abuse and neglect toward
the elderly and to prevent elder exploitation.
According to the National Council on Aging,
elder abuse is a silent problem that robs seniors of their dignity,
security, and – in some cases – it costs them their lives. “Up to five
million older Americans are abused every year, and the annual loss by
victims of financial abuse is estimated to be at least $36.5 billion.”
Combating elder abuse and financial fraud targeted at older adults is
a key priority of the Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney’s
Office for the Western District of North Carolina. Elder abuse is an
intentional or negligent act by any person that causes harm or a serious
risk of harm to an older adult. Elder abuse is a serious crime against
some of our nation’s most vulnerable citizens, affecting at least 10% of
older Americans every year.
Together with our law enforcement partners, the Justice Department
and the U.S. Attorney’s Office are committed to combatting all forms of
elder abuse and financial exploitation through enforcement actions,
training and resources, victim services and public awareness. Visit the
Justice Department’s Elder Justice Initiative to learn more about available resources, including how to report elder abuse and financial exploitation.
