Ohio Sisters Get Stiff Jail Time For Disguising $64K Theft From Elderly Woman's Bank Account As Proceeds From Land Sale

In Butler County, Ohio, the Middletown Journal reports:

• A Middletown woman, one of two sisters who admitted to bilking an elderly woman out of $64,000 in a fraudulant land deal in September, was sentenced seven years in prison Wednesday, July 24, by Butler County Common Pleas Judge Michael Sage, according to the Butler County Prosecutor's Office.

• Penny Shepherd, 45, pleaded guilty as charged to theft, forgery and securing writing by deception and tampering with records in May. She also entered guilty pleas to welfare and Medicaid fraud. Christina Hensley, 35, Shepherd's sister, pleaded guilty to complicity to felony theft and received a two-year prison sentence earlier this month.

• The victim, Orneda Hale, 81, wasn't aware the money was gone until her bank sent her a forged canceled check, along with a faked offer to purchase 7.6 acres of land south of Lexington, Ky., for $64,000 in September.

For the story, see Bilking elderly woman gets one sister 7 years in prison.

For earlier reports on this story from the Middletown Journal, see:

• Sisters admit stealing from elderly woman,
• Sisters' attorney: Land sale no scam (Women accused of bilking 81-year-old out of $64,900 in fradulent real estate transaction).