Batavia Woman Convicted of Stealing Money from Elderly Mother

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A 54-year-old Batavia woman has been convicted of stealing money from her elderly mother’s bank account and spent much of the cash on clothes and at restaurants and bars, prosecutors said Wednesday.

A Kane County jury found Monica T. Ogen, of the 1 to 99 block of North Mallory St. in Batavia, guilty late Tuesday of financial exploitation of an elderly/disabled person, according to a Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office press release.

Prosecutors said Ogen stole between $15,000 and $20,000, including more than $13,000 in cash withdrawals, from her mother between Aug. 3, 2009, and June 9, 2010. Her elderly mother was in a care center at the time.

On one occasion, prosecutors said Ogen spent nearly $2,300 at Home Depot. She made series of transactions at Carson Pirie-Scott worth $1,400.

On at least four occasions, she withdrew $1,600 from her mom’s bank account and deposited the money into her account, according to the news release.

Ogen admitted under oath to stealing the money and wrote a letter of apology to her mother, prosecutors said. Her mother died in 2012.

“As our population grows older and the number of elderly people in our community increases, so does the opportunity to exploit them,” said Kane County State’s Attorney Joe McMahon. “But anyone who sees an elder as an easy target should know that this office makes a priority of defending the most vulnerable among us.”

Ogen is next expected in court on Sept. 9 for a sentencing hearing.

She could be sentenced to probation, jail, a combination of probation and jail, or between three and seven years in prison.

In addition she could be ordered to pay restitution to her mother’s trust.

Ogen remains free on bond.

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