Woman convicted of stealing from 93-year-old sentenced to prison

A West Milton woman convicted of forging checks and using a credit card to steal from a woman for whom she was hired to provide care was sentenced Monday to a year in prison.

Sarah Moore, 36, originally was charged with misuse of a credit card and five counts of forgery for stealing from the 93-year-old woman in West Milton.

The woman's son reported the thefts to West Milton police this summer after his mother received a call from a credit card company about possible fraudulent charges. The bill contained more than $4,000 in charges, police reports said.

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Moore was accused of using the credit card and checks to pay her own cable and water bills, to buy gas, to make smaller transactions and receive cash back and to pay for services for a boyfriend in prison, police reported. The forgery charges involved checks taken from the woman's checkbook and cashed.

As part of a plea deal, four forgery charges were dismissed in exchange for Moore's guilty pleas on the two charges and payment of restitution in Miami County Common Pleas Court. The amount of restitution for forgery was $270 while the credit card amount has not been confirmed.

Moore asked Judge Christopher Gee not to send her to prison so she could continue efforts at sobriety and "gain my life back. I don't want to live this way anymore."

Assistant Prosecutor Janna Parker asked for prison time saying Moore "took advantage of the most vulnerable part of our population."

Gee said Moore had made some progress following a history of convictions and a prior prison sentence. "If this is the life you don't want to live ... change it," he said.

Moore will receive credit for 113 days served in the county jail.

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