The woman accused of a hoax kidnapping in 2009 has now been charged with stealing more than $1 million.
The woman, Bonnie Sweeten, took her nine-year-old daughter to Disney World while simultaneously telling investigators the pair had been carjacked and abducted near Philadelphia. It is now alleged that Sweeten, 40, fled to Disney World amongst investigations into her personal finances.
Sweeten worked as a paralegal where investigators say she stole money from settlements conducted through her law firm and also opened loans in the name of her employer. Sweeten’s fraud continued with her swindling her boss and an elderly relative out of money.
Sweeten is accused of devising an elaborate plan for stealing $640,00 from her one-lawyer firm, $283,000 from retirement accounts belonging to her first husband’s elderly grandfather, and $150,000 in personal loans that were in her boss’ name.
An investigation into her finances was begun after a co-worker noticed a drastic change in Sweeten. The co-worker said she noticed Sweeten’s lifestyle changing from that of a “mobile home community” to a life with clothes, shoes, jewelry, purses, vacations, and $30,000 spent on a dump truck for her husband.
The co-worker told authorizes, “They ate out constantly, breakfast, lunch, dinner because she didn’t cook. Every room in (her) house had the big flat screen TV, brand new furniture…vacations…a cruise.”
Sweeten’s boss, Debbie Carlitz, reportedly testified, “I’m not going to say I was minding the store…I wasn’t.”
Sweeten blaimed her behavior on marital problems, her daughter’s health problems, and an addiction to Ritalin for her lack of care regarding the firm.
Sweeten allegedly deposited Carlitz’s paychecks saying they were her own. Carlitz failed to notice what was occurring because her husband was profiting well off of the sales of custom mattresses. Carlitz claimed she had plenty of money in her account.
Others, including the family of Sweeten’s first husband, noticed something was amiss regarding their finances, but refused to turn Sweeten in.
“She (Sweeten’s former mother-in-law) didn’t want to see Bonnie go to jail because she didn’t want to hurt the grandchildren,” said the brother of Sweeten’s former mother-in-law.
Sweeten was finally arrested and charged when she wrote a bad check to her former mother-in-law for $280,000 and fled to Florida.
Sweeten faces anywhere from 8 ½ to 10 years in prison for using “sophisticated means”. Sweeten’s attorneys hope to lessen her sentence by saying her means were not sophisticated. The sentencing hearing will resume January 26.
