2nd Aiken man pleads guilty to swindling elderly woman
AIKEN, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - Two Aiken men have pleaded guilty after a federal grand jury in Columbia returned a three-count indictment accusing them of bank fraud and conspiracy to commit bank fraud last year.
This week, authorities said Cody Lee Anderson, 37, of Aiken, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud in connection with the g of a will of an 88-year-old woman who ed away in 2022.
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Evidence presented in court showed that sometime during the pandemic, a will was executed by a woman in Aiken that purported to leave the entirety of her estate, which was worth approximately $20 million, to co-conspirator Thomas Allen Bateman Jr., 50.
Anderson was designated as the personal representative and stood to be paid a fee of 5%.
Evidence developed during the investigation indicated the woman did not have the mental capacity to make an informed decision regarding the disposition of her assets, according to prosecutors.
Anderson faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison. He also faces a fine of up to $1 million and a total of five years of supervision to follow the term of imprisonment.
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Senior U.S. District Judge Joseph F. Anderson Jr. accepted the guilty plea and will sentence Anderson at a future date after receiving and reviewing a sentencing report prepared by the U.S. Probation Office.
Bateman pleaded guilty on Aug. 13, 2024, and is scheduled to be sentenced March 3.
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