A Phillips County woman who forged her dead aunt's signature on more than $100,000 in government checks avoided a jail sentence Thursday, because of her age and lack of criminal history, the judge ruled.
Laura Whitehead, 69, of Lexa was ordered by Chief U.S. District Judge Brian Miller to spend five years on probation, with a curfew and location monitoring during the first six months.
She will pay 10 percent of her gross monthly income for restitution of the $118,672.04 she wrongfully pocketed, Miller ruled.
On May 24, Whitehead admitted guilt to one count of theft of government funds between 2006 and 2015, according to the plea agreement. It was negotiated by Cara Boyd Connors, Whitehead's lawyer, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristin Bryant.
Whitehead took care of her aunt, Norma Jean Parker, until the woman died on July 1, 2006, the document says. Parker received veterans benefit checks, issued by the U.S. Treasury Department.
After her aunt's death, Whitehead first cashed a check meant for Parker into a joint account -- held by Parker, Whitehead and Whitehead's husband -- in 2007, leading the Department of Veterans Affairs to believe the deceased woman was still alive.
Whitehead continued to cash checks until the Department of Veterans Affairs stopped the payments in 2015. In April 2016, Whitehead admitted to investigators that she gambled the money at a casino in an attempt to improve her finances.
Whitehead "stated that she knew she was not entitled to Parker's [checks], but there were just so many things she had to pay," the plea agreement states.
For the offense, Whitehead was facing up to 10 years imprisonment and a fine of up to $250,000.
The fact that she pilfered more than $95,000 counted against her, under the rules that guide federal sentencing, Miller explained Thursday in court. But she accepted responsibility, which counted in her favor, he said.
Connors told the judge that Whitehead had suffered "an array of tragedies in her life." They're detailed in pages of letters submitted to the court by the woman's relatives, she said.
Her life was marred by the death of her son, who had sickle cell anemia, and more recently that of her husband, wrote Stephen Eldridge, one of Whitehead's surviving children. She adopted her deceased son's two daughters when he passed, despite having a mentally ill daughter who still lived at home, wrote Matthew Kincaid, Whitehead's nephew.
Connors described Whitehead as the "cornerstone" of her family. The theft was a "grave deterioration from her character," prompted by opportunity and financial woes, Connors explained.
Miller interjected to say that forging government checks after caring for a loved one is nothing new.
"I throw folks in prison every day for this type of behavior," he said.
The question at hand, Miller said, is not whether Whitehead loves and is loved by the people in her life, but whether it serves society to imprison her.
Baker told Miller the federal government was not pushing for prison. She said she'd feel differently if Whitehead was not a 69-year-old woman with no criminal history, considering the circumstances of the crime.
"She took $118,000 and gambled it away," Baker said.
"You're softening it," Miller responded. "You said 'took.' She stole."
The argument that Whitehead should skirt prison time because she requires medical care did not sway him, either, Miller said. Her ailments include diabetes, gout and hypertension, according to the sentencing memorandum filed by Connors.
It's Whitehead's age and her absent criminal history -- and only those two things -- that informed his sentence of five years' probation, Miller said.
By explaining his thinking, Miller said he doesn't mean to shame Whitehead. Rather, he said he put on a "production" because her crime is one people often consider.
Miller also ordered Whitehead to disclose all loans, credit agreements and business dealings to the probation office. She also must attend a mental health treatment program. She cannot gamble in any form while on probation.
Whitehead, assisted by a cane, made a brief statement to the court, saying she was brought up better than her actions indicated.
"I'm not here to make excuses," she said as her family looked on. "I know what I did."
Metro on 10/20/2017