A Vancouver woman who stole more than $300,000 from a 90-year-old man was sentenced Friday to four years and two months in prison.
Clark County Superior Court Judge Robert Lewis opted not to give Becky L. Iverson a drug-offender sentencing alternative program instead of prison time, saying the problem wasn’t just about drugs.
The 50-year-old stole from the victim, Lawrence Sieler, over a period of 18 months and later told investigators she used the money to fund her $600-a-week drug habit. But, given the substantial theft — enough for almost 10 years at that rate — the judge wondered where all the money went.
“The part that’s disturbing is the systematic way of victimizing these people,” Lewis said.
Iverson pleaded guilty Nov. 11 to 11 charges, including first-degree theft, five counts of forgery and five counts of second-degree identity theft.
She was arrested in August after a bank teller grew suspicious and contacted Clark County sheriff’s investigators. Detectives learned Iverson started forging Sieler’s checks in February 2009. In total, she forged 104 checks, representing $89,559, according to court documents. Iverson also stole $213,202 by making unauthorized withdrawals from the victim’s account with Bankers Life and Casualty Co.
Jessic Dimitrov, attorney for Sieler’s guardian ad litem, told Lewis the loss could be even more.
“We don’t even know the full effect of the withdrawals,” she said.
Lewis then said he would set a restitution amount at a later date.
Besides the money, the victimization was felt in a much more personal way, Dimitrov added. Iverson “befriended” Sieler and his 94-year-old wife, Helen, while working at a real estate firm that helped the couple sell their home in 2007.
The couple trusted Iverson to help them with their daily errands and pay their rent at their assisted-living center. The thefts caused the Seilers to be victims “emotionally, financially and in every way imaginable,” Dimitrov said.
After losing everything, they are going to end up on Medicaid, she said.
“They are going to become a burden on all of society because of her actions,” she said.
