Pennsylvania Man Gets 4 To 10 Years For Fleecing 95-Year Old Great-Uncle Out Of $350K+ By Abusing POA, Leaving Him Broke w/ Once-Free & Clear Home Lost To Foreclosure; Victim Now Lives In Nursing Home, Being Hounded By Daily Bill Collector Calls, Says "I Am In Hell"

In Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, LehighValleyLive reports:

• A Pen Argyl man is headed to state prison for stealing his elderly great-uncle's life savings, leaving the victim in a self-described hell.
  
  Scott Lee Bartholomew's actions were an act of financial elder abuse, Judge Robert Steinberg said [], and should serve as a cautionary tale "of who you allow to handle your finances."
  
  The judge sentenced the 54-year-old Bartholomew, of the 100 block of Acker Street, to four to 10 years in state prison -- an aggravated range sentence.
  
  Steinberg also ordered Bartholomew to pay back the $351,677 he stole from his great-uncle, as well as a $10,000 fine.
  
  Bartholomew was convicted of theft and related crimes by a Lehigh County jury following a trial back in October.
  
  The victim, 95-year-old Wilbur B. Stiles, is a World War II Air Force veteran who worked as a wildlife biologist with the U.S. Department of the Interior.
  
  In a victim impact statement, Stiles spoke of going from his home, filled with personal possessions and collections of art and music, to living in the Gino Merli Veterans' Center in the Scranton area.
  
  In the statement read by the judge, Stiles said he's ashamed and frustrated by his circumstances now.
  
  Stiles said he ruminates everyday on his home lost to foreclosure; his besmirched reputation with banks and businesses; and daily phone calls from creditors, all because of Bartholomew taking money and not paying bills.
  
  "I am in hell," Stiles said in the statement.
  
  Stiles said he first learned of the problem when he opened a bill in March 2012, and discovered a $23,000 invoice from the Gino Merli Veterans' Center. Stiles' mail was being sent to a P.O. box.
  
  Chief Deputy District Attorney Charles F. Gallagher told jurors after Bartholomew was appointed as power of attorney in 2003, Stiles' savings dwindled, his home went into foreclosure and Stiles was placed in a nursing facility.
  
  From January 2006 to June 2012, Bartholomew took more than $351,000. He was removed as power of attorney in February 2012.
  
  Bartholomew was convicted of theft by unlawful taking, theft by deception, theft by failure to make required disposition of funds, receiving stolen property and dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities.

For the story, see Nephew heads to state prison for stealing elderly uncle's life savings.

See also, Pen Argyl man sentenced for stealing $350,000 from elderly uncle:

• After a lifetime of hard work and smart investing, Wilbur Stiles was well prepared for retirement. The 95-year-old Allentown man's home was paid off and he was determined, family members said, to remain there in his final years, surrounded by his beloved books, music and World War II memorabilia.
  
  When his health began to fail in 2003, Stiles, who has no children, appointed his great-nephew, Scott L. Bartholomew, power of attorney.
  
  Over the next 10 years, a Lehigh County jury found, Bartholomew, 54, of Pen Argyl, drained Stiles' bank accounts and took out multiple mortgages on Stiles' home, leaving his great-uncle deeply in debt.
  
  [Last week], Judge Robert L. Steinberg sentenced Bartholomew to four to 10 years in a state prison, and ordered him to pay a $10,000 fine and $351,677 in restitution. [...] The judge praised the Lehigh County Elder Abuse Task Force for pursuing the case, saying he believed elder abuse is an underreported crime. "I think everyone fears that we're going to spend the last days of our lives penniless and living in a nursing home. That is what happened to Mr. Stiles," Steinberg said.