A man convicted of stealing more than $38,000 from a disabled relative was sentenced Thursday, March 2, to spend up to two years in a state correctional facility, the Bucks County District Attorney’s office said.
Patrick Wayne Alderton, 46, formerly of Whitehall Township, was convicted by a Bucks County jury Jan. 11, on charges of theft by failure to make required disposition of funds received, theft by unlawful taking, unlawful use of a computer and other computer crimes, receiving stolen property and misapplication of entrusted property.
President Judge Wallace H. Bateman Jr. sentenced Alderton to 1-2 years in state prison, along with a concurrent three years of probation.
On Oct. 22, 2020, Bucks County Detectives received information related to the alleged misappropriation of funds by Alderton, the personal representative of a relative’s estate, during a guardianship case being heard in the Bucks County Court of Common Pleas, the DAs office said. The relative, who lived in nursing facility in Quakertown, had been deemed a totally incapacitated person via decree signed by Common Pleas Judge C. Theodore Fritsch.
The relative inherited more than $88,000 and during an accounting of her finances by her court-appointed guardian, money was found to be missing or unaccounted for.
The investigation determined that Alderton spent $38,608.99 of the relative’s estate on expenditures unrelated to her care, including $29,000 for rent on his former Whitehall Township residence, the DAs office said. The investigation also found that Alderton created invoices to cover up the use of some of the money to make it appear as if it was used for legitimate purposes.
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