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Briefs

Wife sentenced in fraud case

By Times Staff Writer
Published March 31, 2005

INVERNESS - An Inverness woman who testified against her husband after both were accused of bilking an elderly couple out of nearly $500,000 will serve a 10-month jail term, a judge ruled Wednesday.

Anne Marie McDaniel, 41, also must serve 10 years of probation and pay $100 a month to a feeding program at St. Margaret's Episcopal Church in Inverness. Circuit Judge Ric Howard told McDaniel she deserved a prison sentence, but he went on to praise her for helping authorities and said she seemed truly sorry. "You're like the key in the lock," he said. "You're the only who kind of sprang this open." In January, a jury found her husband, Maurice, 58, guilty of two counts of exploitation of an elderly person, two counts of grand theft and one count of organized fraud. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison earlier this month. Mrs. McDaniel made a deal with prosecutors in 2004. Prosecutors dropped six of the seven charges against her in exchange for her testimony against her husband. She pleaded guilty to one count of exploitation of the elderly. Her testimony was important to the state's case against her husband, Assistant State Attorney Phil Hanson said. "In my mind . . . she gave more cooperation than anyone I've ever dealt with," he said.

[Last modified March 31, 2005, 01:27:20]