Vickie Long
A Ringgold woman has entered a non-negotiated guilty plea to one count of exploiting an elderly person, one count of identity fraud, and one count of theft by taking.
Prosecutors said Vickie Long conned her mother into giving her large sums of money for fictitious cancer treatments. After Adult Protective Services and family members intervened and put a stop to the voluntary transfers, the defendant started using her mother’s personally identifiable information to take money from her checking and savings accounts.
As soon as Daniel Thacker, a detective with the Catoosa County Sheriff’s Office, was notified of the abuse, he acted quickly to bring the defendant to justice, officials said.
Law enforcement later determined that the defendant spent most of the stolen money on fentanyl.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Zachary Trippe.
After hearing evidence and argument from both sides, Judge Melissa Gifford Hise sentenced the defendant to 30 years, with the first 15 years to be served in confinement.
The victim lost her home and nearly $200,000 as a result of the defendant’s fraudulent schemes.
“If you steal from your elderly mother, you’re not just a criminal - you’re a coward,” said District Attorney Clayton M. Fuller. “This defendant claimed to have cancer, but the truth is, she was the cancer. In this community, we protect our most vulnerable, and we will make sure predators like her pay the price. We’re thankful to Judge Hise for delivering a stiff sentence because criminals need to know…if you prey on the weak in Northwest Georgia, the strong are coming for you.”