Accountant stole thousands from widow, family trust

Accountant stole thousands from widow, family trust



Published : Thursday, 19 Jan 2012, 12:06 PM EST



INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - An Indianapolis attorney and accountant faces charges stemming from allegations she stole hundreds of thousand dollars from two accounts she managed.

The Marion County Prosecutor’s Office says Stacy H. Sheedy faces three counts of theft and one count of forgery after investigators discovered $596,000 in withdrawals and unaccounted money missing from a guardianship account and a family trust account.

According to court documents, money turned up missing from a guardianship account that supported an elderly woman with Alzheimer’s disease. In that case, investigators say they found several unauthorized transfers and withdrawals, including checks Sheedy allegedly wrote to herself.

Investigators say money started disappearing from that account two months after Sheedy took control.

“Stacy Sheedy failed not just her profession, she also failed the people for whom she had a fiduciary and ethical obligation to protect,” said Prosecutor Terry Curry. “This type of theft is unconscionable, and we simply will not tolerate it. We look forward to vigorously prosecuting this case to its conclusion.”

During the course of their investigation, they began looking into Sheedy’s work with a family trust account. According to the prosecutor’s office, the family trust was valued at $501,000 when she became a trustee. Now the same trust is valued at $168.

Family members say they became suspicious when they stopped receiving statements from the brokerage account. Shortly thereafter, the family began to receive a purported monthly statement from the Wealth Council Indiana Small Cap Bond fund.

Investigators checked with the Indiana Secretary of State’s office only to learn no such fund exists.

When choosing a money manager, checking credentials is essential, Curry emphasized.

Sheedy had credentials, but the victims didn't appear to have good checks and balances in place to protect their money. A single person, Curry said, shouldn’t have full control over an account. Customers should also demand monthly statements, he said, and then read the statements closely and have someone else check them as well.

"If it's your money, you're entitled to ask questions," Curry said.

The prosecutor also filed 14 counts of theft against Cheryl Dillion-Britt, who worked for Indianapolis-based Alpha Tau Omega Foundation for 13 years and is alleged to have stolen $200,000, and to have issued checks to friends and family members.

Proper checks and balances might have helped catch that problem sooner too, Curry said.

Alpha Tau Omega Foundation CEO Wynn Smiley called the theft "heartbreaking."R eforms have been implemented and new accounting controls are in place, she said. nugget

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http://www.wishtv.com/dpp/news/local/marion_county/docs-accountant-stole-thousands




Editor's note: Alice R. Gore Estate value about 1 million dollars: Alice R. Gore, deceased, a disabled 99 year old ward of the Probate Court of Cook County, Judge Kawamoto’s courtroom had a mentally disabled granddaughter appointed as guardian of Alice. This allowed the court to easily manipulate this disabled granddaughter into allowing the court parasites to disemble Alice's estate. What makes the actions of the Probate Court of Cook County differ from dispicable acts of Stacy Sheedy? Lucius Verenus, Schoolmaster, ProbateSharks.com

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