Knoxville Man Sentenced To Three Years In Prison For Defrauding His Elderly Great Aunt

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – On Aug. 27, 2014, Mark Kevin Tudor, 42, of Knoxville, Tenn., was sentenced to serve 36 months in federal prison by the Honorable Pamela L. Reeves, U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Tennessee. Tudor pleaded guilty in April 2014 to federal wire fraud charges.

As part of the sentence imposed, upon his release from prison Tudor will be on supervised release for a period of three years. The Court further ordered Tudor to pay the victim $266,227.80 in restitution.

The investigation determined that Tudor abused a position of trust after having been granted a power-of-attorney by his 93 year-old great aunt, who suffered from a visual disability and needed assistance with her financial affairs. Without his great aunt’s permission or authority, Tudor systematically depleted the victim’s bank and credit union account and life insurance policy. In total, Tudor stole over $267,000 from the victim before the fraud was discovered, which nearly depleted the victim’s life savings. According to a written statement by the victim read in court, when the victim discovered the fraud only $347 remained in her credit union account, which had held over $200,000 before the theft.

U.S. Attorney William C. Killian emphasized the importance of the prosecution of fraud committed against the elderly. “Senior citizens are among the most vulnerable members of our society to financial crimes. Those who take advantage of the trust placed in them by the elderly, by defrauding them in violation of federal law, will be investigated and prosecuted,” said Killian.

This case was jointly investigated by the Knoxville Police Department and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Assistant U.S Attorney Matthew Morris represented the United States.