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Woman pleads guilty to stealing from North Aurora nursing home resident

The Beacon-News - 2/21/2018

Feb. 21--A former long-term care ombudsman in Kane County has pleaded guilty to stealing thousands of dollars from an elderly woman she was supposed to be helping, according to court records.

In the plea Friday, Mary E. Pfingston, 41, of the 3300 block of Hutchinson Road, Joliet , admitted her guilt to five felonies including financial exploitation of the elderly, theft and three counts of public contractor misconduct.

Her trial had been set for March.

Kane County Circuit Judge Donald M. Tegeler Jr. accepted the plea, setting her sentencing for 1:30 p.m.March 22.

Pfingston could get probation or face a sentence of three to seven years in state prison.

Pfingston stole thousands of dollars from a resident of Asbury Gardens in North Aurora, officials said.

She was in a position of trust over the resident, Kane County Assistant State's Attorney Sarah Seberger said in court, according to a news release.

Pfingston said she took at least $15,000 of the resident's money to pay for her cancer treatments, according to prosecutors. Indictments state she stole between $5,000 and $50,000between Feb. 1 and April 30, 2015.

Illinois State Police in December said they arrested Pfingston without incident at her Joliet home after a Kane County Grand Jury indicted her.

Since then, she has been in custody at the Kane County Jail under the name Mary McMillan. Her bail, which had been $100,000, was revoked after her plea.

State police officials said internal investigations agents received a complaint in May 2015 against Pfingston, a contractual employee for the Illinois Department on Aging.

Police identified suspicious transactions, including an attempted $15,000 wire transfer and cashed check for $4,000 from the bank accounts of a patient living at Asbury Gardens, according to a news release from the state police.

Pfingston was working for Senior Services Associates, a contractor of the Illinois Department on Aging, and was in a position of trust with the resident she's accused of stealing from, according to the indictments.

Pfingston worked for the contractor as a Kane County long-term care ombudsman, where her primary duty is to advocate for residents of long-term facilities within the county, according to prosecutors.

hleone@tribpub.com

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