A former Richmond woman has pleaded guilty to fraudulently obtaining the identity of an elderly Spring Grove victim, then selling off more than $25,000 of the victim’s stock in Abbot for her own personal use, court records show.
Sherry Ann Mandel, 51, pleaded guilty to a Class 1 felony charge of aggravated identity theft between $10,000 and $100,000 of a person older than 60 years of age, McHenry County court records show.
Mandel, who moved to Wisconsin in January 2024, was sentenced to two years probation and ordered to pay the victim $25,306.05 in restitution and an additional $1,783 in court fees, court records show.
Records show the plea deal was accepted Thursday in McHenry County Court.
Mandel is also ordered to not have any contact with the victim, court records show.
Court records dated Aug. 17, 2023, show Mandel was able to obtain the social security number of the 86-year-old victim and use that number to change the victim’s address at the investing group Computershare Investor Center to her own.
Computershare is an investing company and transfer agency that, according to its website, handles employee equity plans, proxy solicitation, stakeholder communications, and other diversified financial and governance services.
Mandel then forged the victim’s signature to sell 245 shares of Abbott stock, forged the victim’s signature on the back of the check for $25,306 and deposited the funds in her own bank account in September 2023, the complaint reads.
This was done without the victim’s knowledge or permission, the complaint reads.
In exchange for her guilty plea, additional felony charges of identity theft, financial exploitation of an elderly person, theft, and forgery were dropped, court records show.
Had the case gone to trial, Mandel could have been sentenced to up to 15 years in prison.