A 36-year-old woman, Lashawn Ellesse Owens, entered a guilty plea on Friday and was swiftly sentenced to six months in jail for the theft of a significant sum of money from her grandmother, who was battling cancer in Irvine.
Owens pleaded guilty to two grand theft charges. In exchange for her plea deal, prosecutors dismissed two additional charges related to theft from an elderly adult and stealing a vehicle, as well as sentencing enhancements for aggravated white collar crime. She has been given a deadline of September 29th to report to jail, and she has already received credit for the 22 days she has spent behind bars.
According to court records, Owens has been ordered to pay $75,000 in restitution.
A report from Irvine police investigator Sarah Voigt reveals that Owens’ family arranged for her to care for her grandmother, Phyllis Owens, after the 72-year-old was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer.
Phyllis Owens had received a settlement of $421,561.69 as compensation for injuries sustained in a car accident, as stated in the court papers submitted by Voigt.
“Due to the medication Phyllis was on at the time, she was in a weakened state. Consequently, Lashawn acted as the intermediary between Phyllis and the bank,” Voigt explains.
Voigt also details how the victim believed she was signing documents that would enable her granddaughter to assist with her banking. However, unbeknownst to her, these documents were actually cashier’s checks. On December 21st of the previous year, the defendant allegedly received a $53,900 cashier’s check payable to Tesla, as well as $60,000 paid directly to her, $2,000 in cash, and an additional $10,000 in cash.
“Phyllis informed me that none of these transactions were authorized by her, nor did she have any discussions with Lashawn that would lead her to believe such transactions were approved,” Voigt confirms.
According to Voigt, the defendant also convinced her grandmother to close her existing bank account and transfer all of her funds to another bank, where Lashawn had an account. As a result, the victim transferred $228,873 to the new bank account.
Only a week later, Phyllis had her family evict Lashawn from her home due to fear and intimidation caused by the defendant’s actions and caregiving approach.
Voigt further reveals that once the victim attempted to use her new bank card for transactions, they were consistently denied. This was because the defendant, who was still listed on the account, denied and reported all transactions as fraudulent.
Eventually, the victim resolved the situation at the bank and withdrew the remaining funds, which amounted to approximately $48,000.
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