SALINE CO., Ill.—A woman posing as a “health care worker” of sorts in order to get in good with an area senior citizen has been entered a plea of guilty to her actions in Saline County Circuit Court.
Kim Ital
Kimberly J. Ital, 46, of Harrisburg, Illinois pled guilty on March 25, 2014 in Saline County to three (3) counts of Aggravated Identity Theft (Exceeding $300.00 but not exceeding $10,000.00), Class 2 felonies, and one (1) count of Theft (Over $500.00), a Class 3 felony.
A presentence investigation and report was ordered to be prepared by the Saline County probation department. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for May 13, 2014 at 10:00 a.m.
Class 2 felonies are punishable by a term of 3 to 7 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections, 2 years mandatory supervised release and a $25,000 fine. Class 3 felonies are normally punishable by a term of 2 to 5 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections, 1 year mandatory supervised release and a $25,000 fine.
There was no word in the press release from Saline County prosecutor Mike Henshaw’s office as to whether Ital will be forced to give back any monies she stole from the 70-plus-year-old Saline County woman over the course of several months in 2013, the discovery of which was made in October of 2013 prior to Ital being charged.
Because Ital never stated she WAS a healthcare professional (such as a nurse or any other kind of certified person with a professional license), she was never charged with such a thing, although those who know her have insisted since her arrest that she has indeed in the past told elderly people that she was certified and thus eligible to care for them. It was through just such a circumstance that she came to be a caregiver for the person from whom she stole, using the woman’s money to pay for a family vacation, college for one kid, and a bonding out of jail for another.
More in the print version as well as here at the e-Edition; be sure your subscriptions are up to date for the April/May 2014 edition, on stands April 16!
See what people are saying about this subject on Facebook!