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County woman gets prison time for stealing from elderly relatives

LISBON — A 45-year-old Salem woman was sentenced Monday to eight and a half years in prison for stealing money from the elderly relatives of her husband.

Kimberly A. Whitman, of Adams Avenue, appeared before Judge C. Ashley Pike in Columbiana County Common Pleas Court.

However, before he issued the sentence, Judge C. Ashley Pike said he believes “this case is about a whole lot more than money.”

Rosemary McClish, the sister of the two victims in the case — Frank Goetz and Alice Whitman — spoke before the sentencing talking, about what Kimberly Whitman did to her family. McClish said her sister Alice believed lies Whitman told her about having a terminally ill son and needing a place to stay. She invited them to stay in her home to help them.

“Alice (Whitman) was made a prisoner in her own home,” McClish said, adding she lost her car and access to her friends. “She was taken to a doctor in Cleveland because we were told she had dementia. This was all a big lie.”

Instead, McClish said they later learned all of Alice Whitman’s testing came back normal and they later had a doctor tell them she was being starved. She was 96 pounds when family got Whitman out of the situation and now she is 145 pounds. McClish said her sister now can cook, clean, drive her own car, has a job and takes care of her own bank accounts, all things the family had been led to believe she was incapable of doing.

“Your honor. I ask you to punish Kimberly Whitman to the fullest extent of the law,” McClish said becoming emotional as she added there was both a financial and emotional toll on them.

Alice Whitman said Kimberly Whitman has been using people all her life and even took her son’s graduation money, besides stealing tens of thousands of dollars from her.

“You made me a prisoner in my own home,” Alice Whitman said, explaining the door knob was changed to lock her into her bedroom at times.

Additionally, she claimed Kimberly Whitman took her phone and convinced her that her friends and family no longer cared about her. When she stopped taking her medications, Kimberly Whitman reportedly made her take them in front of her.

Alice Whitman said by the time Kimberly Whitman was done she was $3,000 behind in her mortgage and even more behind on her taxes.

“Thank God you sent me to Behavioral Health to get me out of your hair for a few hours,” she said, adding with their help she no longer “suffers in a living hell every day.”

Frank Goetz also spoke before sentencing, talking about how he has fallen behind trying to pay a lot of extra bills to get them caught up from the money stolen from them.

Additionally, Goetz pointed out Kimberly Whitman’s current employer, Visiting Angels, must not be too smart allowing her to work for a company which takes care of elderly people.

“She has no remorse,” Goetz said, “and neither does her husband. He’s not a man because he did all of this to his own mother.”

Susan Frenger, one of the owners at Visiting Angels, said Kimberly Whitman has worked for her for five and a half years and would continue working for her after the hearing. However, Frenger said Whitman is not in a care position and instead works in the office, scheduling the 90 people working for the organization.

Frenger said she knew Whitman had pleaded to some felonies and was facing possible prison time, but that she did not know many details about the crimes because she had asked Whitman not to bring these personal things into the workplace.

Prior to sentencing, Whitman did apologize “to her friends and family for putting them through this.”

She also denied claims there is nothing wrong with her son, stating five years earlier he was lifeflighted due to a baseball-sized blood clot on his brain and remains on medication to this day.

In April, Whitman had pleaded guilty to three counts of theft and one count of money laundering.

According the charges, starting on May 11, 2013 and continuing through Oct. 15, 2015, stole more than $7,500 but less than $37,500 from Goetz. Additionally, on May 11, 2013, she conducted a transaction involving Goetz’s JP Morgan Chase checking account.

Whitman’s charges also included those for stealing from Alice Whitman. Beginning Jan. 1, 2013 and continuing through July 20, 2014, she took at least $1,000 but less than $7,500 from Whitman. Then between July 21, 2014 and continuing through March 3, 2015, she took additional money from Whitman of at least $7,500 but less than $37,500.

Kimberly Whitman was facing up to 10 years in prison and a $32,500 fine.

During a restitution hearing held earlier this month, attorneys Jones and Frank had continued to disagree on the amount of restitution actually due. Jones’ amount was somewhere around $120,000, while Frank’s was much less.

During the sentencing, Pike pointed out that while the attorneys have worked hard to come up with an amount of restitution due, there are some things better left to the civil courts. Some of additional thefts may have occurred before the time frame in the indictment.

Pike had also questioned Goetz following his statement about whether he believed they would ever get the money back and Goetz said he believed they would not.

Pike agreed to prosecutor’s recommended 102-month prison term, stating he believed having the three 30-month sentences and the one-year prison sentence run consecutively was necessary due to the great harm caused in the case to the victims. In addition to the prison term, Pike ordered Whitman to make restitution.

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