By LeAnn R. Ralph
MENOMONIE — A 51-year-old Wheeler woman charged with seven felonies related to financial crimes against the elderly has pleaded not guilty in Dunn County Circuit Court.
Lori K. Feyen appeared before Judge Rod Smeltzer August 21 for an arraignment hearing and entered a plea of not guilty.
A two-day trial has been scheduled in March of 2021.
Feyen is charged with seven felonies that all include the modifier of a crime against an elderly or disabled person. The felonies include fraudulent financial card use of over $10,000; theft of movable property valued between $10,000 and $100,000; two counts of forgery; theft of movable property (special facts); misappropriating an identification to obtain money; and criminal damage to property over $2,500.
During a preliminary hearing June 16, Boyceville Police Chief Greg Lamkin testified that his initial contact with the case was the report of some furniture missing from a residence in Boyceville on River Road.
The police chief said he spoke with a court-appointed guardian and obtained financial records for the alleged victims. The court-appointed guardian said money to pay for housing at The Neighbors of Dunn County for the elderly couple was missing from their bank account, Police Chief Lamkin said.
According to the criminal complaint, the court-appointed guardian said she had been authorized by the court to sell the home the two elderly people had occupied to cover their debts, which amounted to over $261,000 as of July 22, 2019.
Upon examining the financial records, Police Chief Lamkin observed that Feyen, who was initially the guardian for the elderly couple, had written out checks to herself and had made ATM withdrawals from their bank account.
The checks amounted to thousands of dollars between 2018 and 2019, he said.
Each of the counts for which Feyen is charged includes a modifier for being perpetrated against an elderly or disabled person, which carries a penalty, upon conviction, of an additional fine of $10,000 for each count.
Fraudulent use of a financial transaction card in an amount greater than $10,000 and theft of movable property valued between $10,000 and $100,000 are both Class G felonies that carry a possible penalty for each count, upon conviction, of a fine of up to $25,000 and/or up to 10 years in prison.
The two counts of forgery, theft of movable property (special facts), and identity theft are Class H felonies that carry a possible penalty for each count, upon conviction, of a fine of up to $10,000 and/or up to six years in prison.
Criminal damage to property is a Class I felony that carries a possible penalty, upon conviction, of a fine of up to $10,000 and/or up to three years and six months in prison.
Bail was set for Feyen with a $1,000 signature bond on November 18, 2019.
