Theft From Vulnerable Adult Brings 30-Month Term
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A District of Columbia woman has been sentenced to 30 months in prison for stealing nearly $270,000 from a vulnerable adult she'd known for decades.
The U.S. attorney's office in Washington said in a news release that Lori M. Hawkins, 38, was sentenced Friday following her August guilty plea to one count of interstate transportation of stolen property. Hawkins has also agreed to repay the victim.
Authorities said the victim, now 62, suffered brain tumors in her late 20s that left her with diminished mental capacity and requiring family care. When the victim's brother/caretaker died in 2007, the victim inherited more than $400,000. Hawkins produced a document purporting to grant her power of attorney, collected the money and used it to travel to London and Las Vegas and for the benefit of herself and a friend.
Hawkins stopped paying for the victim's care at an assisted-living facility when the money ran out in early 2009.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
