Bloomfield Hills woman sentenced for stealing $70K from elderly vet
Sentencing was handed down Monday for a Bloomfield Hills woman for stealing tens of thousands of dollars from an elderly veteran.
Oakland County Circuit Judge David Cohen sentenced Margaret Risdon, 62, to two days in jail with credit for two days served, and ordered her to pay restitution of $72,843 for embezzling from a vulnerable adult, which she pleaded guilty to in September. Risdon’s sentence also includes three years probation.
The Michigan Attorney General’s Office charged Risdon in 2020 following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of the Inspector General. The investigation was launched after the victim raised concerns that someone was stealing from him, according to the Attorney General’s Office.
It was alleged that between November 2016 and July 2017, Risdon wrote checks from the victim’s bank account to herself and her business, Electronic Creations, totaling nearly $56,800, and made ATM withdrawals totaling more than $16,000. Risdon would then deposit the checks into her bank account and withdraw the money in cash, according to the AG’s Office.
The AG’s Office also claimed that the embezzlement happened while the victim lived in nursing homes and hospitals because he suffered from physical and mental ailments and was unable to care for himself. Risdon did not have power of attorney for the victim, nor serve as his guardian or conservator.
Risdon didn’t file state income tax returns to account for the roughly $72,000 she received in 2016 and 2017, according to the AG’s Office. Charges against her for failure to file/filing false tax returns were dismissed.