News 02.15.18
15 February 2018 News
A Pine River woman pleads no contest to criminal charges of filing fraudulent income tax returns. 39-year-old Carrie Acker is facing two felony counts in Waushara County Circuit Court . Acker was originally charged on December 5, 2016, with four felony counts of filing fraudulent income tax returns but received a reduced charge as a result of a plea bargain. According to the criminal complaint, Acker inflated her withholding on her income tax returns in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 in order to obtain a larger tax refund than she was entitled to. Acker was prosecuted by the Attorney General’s office after an investigation by the Office of Criminal Investigation of the Wisconsin Department of Revenue. Acker is scheduled to be sentenced on April 27th.
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A Fond du Lac woman is accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from an elderly woman in her care. Fifty three year old Margaret Meyers is charged with theft. She is accused of stealing more than $300,000 from a 97-year-old woman over a more than three year period. According to a criminal complaint a social worker reported her concerns to police after receiving a call from Landmark Credit Union about a problem with the elderly woman’s account. Meyers says she stole the money to help feed a relative’s drug addiction. She faces up to six years in prison if convicted. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for next week.
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The Wisconsin Assembly unanimously passes a bill that would make impersonating someone on social media a crime. The measure targets “catfishing,” when someone impersonates another person online with the intent of defrauding or harassing them. The bill passed Tuesday would make the crime a misdemeanor punishable by up to $1,000 in fines and 90 days in jail. It’s intended to update current law which deals only with email fraud. Bill co-sponsor Rep. Bob Kulp says he introduced the measure after a friend of his was targeted by someone trying to defraud him out of money. He says it’s similar to laws in place in other states, including California, Texas and Pennsylvania. The bill now heads to the Senate.
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Republican Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald says that only the “structure” of a juvenile justice overhaul plan may pass this session, leaving more work to be done next session. Fitzgerald reiterated to reporters Wednesday that passing the plan backed by Gov. Scott Walker and a bipartisan group of lawmakers is a “heavy lift in the amount of time we have.” The plan calls for closing the troubled Lincoln Hills prison, housing the most serious juvenile offenders in state-run prisons and having counties pay for housing less violent inmates. Fitzgerald says given the amount of work needed on the bill, the Legislature may put the structure in place this session and execute the plan next session. Fitzgerald says he’s still “hopeful” something will pass.
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