GUILTY PA - Bonnie Sweeten for staged abduction, swindle, Upper Southampton, 2009

[SharetheLight]

The only charges BS faces at this moment are stealing an identity and making false reports. Even though these are very serious charges they are the only ones she faces right now. The rest is just speculation and guessing and the media. From the start of this case the media could not provide a consistent fact about this case. I find it interesting that all of the sudden there are people who will view the media reports as gospel.

Outside the false kidnapping report, we have heard nothing from BS. All of the information we have regarding anything she said or did her entire life comes from other sources. Other sources may or may not benefit from a slant in the story at this point. Even prior to BS being found other sources couldn't agree on things.

It was reported by someone she was having marital difficulties, but hubby maintained marriage was fine, no more rocky than most, so which is it? She was reported to have altered a check from her parents, but another source said it was her ex-in-laws whose check she altered, which is it, A, B, or none of the above??
My point is there is some poor reporting in this case and sources offering up information that may or may not be accurate at this point. I'll consider the charges she currently faces, but as for other charges I'll hold my opinion until those charges are filed.

 

[Miss Patti]

Lies, lies and more lies :waitasec:

Who really paid hoax mom's bail?

Her attorney insists that friends and family came up with the $100,000 to release Bonnie Anne Sweeten, but courthouse paperwork suggests otherwise.

 

[Openmind]

Lies, lies and more lies :waitasec:

Who really paid hoax mom's bail?

Her attorney insists that friends and family came up with the $100,000 to release Bonnie Anne Sweeten, but courthouse paperwork suggests otherwise.

Me, too. The story they did on her family did not portray them as affluent. I don't know that many people that have 100 grand to just throw away.

What is bothering me is how dismissive so many are of this crime? This is much more than "everyone makes mistakes." I am very glad the she and the child are safe and unharmed, but they were never in danger. So, if in the end everyone is OK, we should just be happy with that and forget how the drama began? In this case, Mom was a thief and a liar and thought nothing of how her actions hurt or abused her family, friends, and the public in general. If a father had pulled this stunt, would everyone be so forgiving?

 

[21merc7]

The Today Show did not have much. She said she felt like everything was closing in on her. Media believes she and husband were living beyond their means. Husband said media got values wrong for house and car. He does not feel they are living beyond their means. Noone in family is missing any money. Lawyer has her seeing therapist. That is all I could hear from the other room.

 

[CHICANA]

I am infuriated. I very much have disdain for anyone that steals and is a blantant liar! Embezzling money is illegal, disgusting and punishable in a court of law. I hope she is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

She should pay every dime back it took for them to find her. She also owes a big apology to the black community by lying that two black men had kidnapped her and her daughter when she knew that was not true and she was Disney bound instead.

If it is a court order stating she is to payback the money spent on the wasted man hours it took then she cannot file bankruptcy.

I don't think any other person knew about her secret illegal dealings she was doing at her place of employment. I don't think her parents were aware that she had altered their check by $265 thousand either. She has involved and shamed others now that her true persona has been exposed. People like this are chameleons. That is why they are able to steal money right under the employer and spouse's nose. She was trusted..........she shouldn't have been.:furious:

It would be very advisable for Mr. Sweeten to have a professional go over all of his books on his business, which she handled solely and also their own personal accounts although I am sure the investigators are going to go through them with a fine tooth comb. They said she made high withdrawals before she skipped town.

imo

I work for a collection agency and I know you can file bankruptcy to discharge court judgements, I just don't know if this debt would be like educational debt that can't be discharged.
Sorry, but I'm so glad the kids ok that the rest is irrelevant. If she's guilty she'll do her time, but I've seen financial crimes warrant more time than crimes against children. It's like human life is worth less than the almighty $$.

 

[CHICANA]

Me, too. The story they did on her family did not portray them as affluent. I don't know that many people that have 100 grand to just throw away.

What is bothering me is how dismissive so many are of this crime? This is much more than "everyone makes mistakes." I am very glad the she and the child are safe and unharmed, but they were never in danger. So, if in the end everyone is OK, we should just be happy with that and forget how the drama began? In this case, Mom was a thief and a liar and thought nothing of how her actions hurt or abused her family, friends, and the public in general. If a father had pulled this stunt, would everyone be so forgiving?

I'm happy. I was thinking mom was faking the abduction to cover for hurting/killing her child. Instead she was at Disney World.
I'm not saying she should get off without suffering the consequences of her actions, there's just no comparison between a child's life and money.
It's only money. She'll pay for it, I'm just glad she wasn't so screwed up that she took it out on her child.

 

[KDB]

http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news...ion-Hoax-Mom-Bonnie-Sweeten-in-Seclusion.html

Runaway mom Bonnie Sweeten faked an abduction and fled to Disney World because she snapped under the pressures of a new baby, money problems and a troubled marriage, her attorney admitted to NBC's Jeff Rossen. It could be the groundwork for an insanity defense, Rossen reports.

"It could be physical, it could be mental, it could be hormonal or a combination of all three," Louis R. Busico said. Sweeten, who is in seclusion in a secret location with her husband Larry, started treatment with a therapist Busico recommended and is deeply remorseful, Busico said. "She's apologetic for putting her family and friends through a period of hell."

The suburban mom from Feasterville, Bucks County, Pa. set off a nationwide search last week after her frantic 9-1-1 call, claiming she and her 9-year old daughter had been carjacked by two black men and thrown into the trunk of their car. What she'd really done was run off to Disney World using another woman's ID. Prosecutors say "the walls were caving in" on Sweeten, who was living beyond her means and may have stolen up to $700,000 from family, friends and a local charity, according to investigators.

"She's doing good. She's getting rest; taking it easy," husband Larry Sweeten said Tuesday. He also said there is no money missing from any of his family members and that he doesn't believe they were living beyond their means.

Prosecutors accused Sweeten of using stolen money to pay for fertility treatments totaling $100,000, pay the mortgage on a $425,000 house in the 'burbs, buy a $50,000 SUV and take nice vacations. A lifestyle probably far different from the mobile home park Bonnie lived in before she remarried. Bonnie did handle all the couple's money but Larry said "everything's getting exxaggerated." He said the SUV was bought used for about $20,000 and the house is only worth $400,000.

Sweeten was caught and cuffed inside an Orlando hotel inside the Disney resort last week after pleas by family, friends, husband and ex-husband. She was brought back to Bucks County Friday night, spent one night in jail there and posted $100,000 on her $1 million bail to get out the next day.
As a condition of her bail, Sweeten's visits with her three daughters must be supervised, although she is talking to them by phone on a regular basis.

Her husband said while the embezzlement charges are not true, even if they were, he would stand by Bonnie. "She's my wife. We can work through anything."

Sweeten will be in court Thursday to face charges of identity theft and making false reports.

 

[Openmind]

I'm happy. I was thinking mom was faking the abduction to cover for hurting/killing her child. Instead she was at Disney World.
I'm not saying she should get off without suffering the consequences of her actions, there's just no comparison between a child's life and money.
It's only money. She'll pay for it, I'm just glad she wasn't so screwed up that she took it out on her child.

I'm glad your glad. I really am and do understand.

The suburban mom from Feasterville, Bucks County, Pa. set off a nationwide search last week after her frantic 9-1-1 call, claiming she and her 9-year old daughter had been carjacked by two black men and thrown into the trunk of their car. What she'd really done was run off to Disney World using another woman's ID. Prosecutors say "the walls were caving in" on Sweeten, who was living beyond her means and may have stolen up to $700,000 from family, friends and a local charity, according to investigators.

"She's doing good. She's getting rest; taking it easy," husband Larry Sweeten said Tuesday. He also said there is no money missing from any of his family members and that he doesn't believe they were living beyond their means.

Prosecutors accused Sweeten of using stolen money to pay for fertility treatments totaling $100,000, pay the mortgage on a $425,000 house in the 'burbs, buy a $50,000 SUV and take nice vacations. A lifestyle probably far different from the mobile home park Bonnie lived in before she remarried. Bonnie did handle all the couple's money but Larry said "everything's getting exxaggerated." He said the SUV was bought used for about $20,000 and the house is only worth $400,

So, who has it right -- the lawyer or the husband?

LOL -- I don't know if a mortgage of $400,000 is that much of a relief from $425,000.

 

[palocal]

More shenanigans?

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/49074771.html?cmpid=15585797

 

[SleuthyMama]

More shenanigans?

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/49074771.html?cmpid=15585797

Thanks for posting that. I think as they keep digging more "bones" are going to be found. Ms. Sweeten had a lot of things to hide, I do believe.

 

[palocal]

Thanks for posting that. I think as they keep digging more "bones" are going to be found. Ms. Sweeten had a lot of things to hide, I do believe.

Oh, I am sure this has only scratched the surface.

 

[KDB]

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/20090723_Bonnie_Sweeten_heads_to_divorce_court.html

Posted on Thu, Jul. 23, 2009

Bonnie Sweeten heads to divorce court

By Larry King
Inquirer Staff Writer

Bonnie Sweeten, the Bucks County mother whose bizarre, racially tinged abduction hoax drew national attention, is headed for divorce court.
Her husband, Richard L. "Larry" Sweeten, calling the marriage "irretrievably broken," has filed for divorce and for custody of the couple's 11-month-old daughter.

Larry Sweeten's divorce complaint, filed late yesterday afternoon in Bucks County Court, makes little mention of the incident. But it does cite her arrest and her potential flight risk as grounds for limiting her contact with their baby to supervised visits.

Bonnie Sweeten, whose attorney has said is undergoing mental health counseling, remains free on 10 percent of $1 million bail. She has three daughters from two marriages, and a condition of her bail is that she have no unsupervised contact with any of them.

 

[palocal]

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/20090723_Bonnie_Sweeten_heads_to_divorce_court.html

Here's a some with a little more info:

http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Runaway-Moms-Husband-Files-for-Divorce.html

The husband of runaway mom, Bonnie Sweeten, who once claimed the couple could "get through anything," has filed for divorce.

In May, Sweeten called 9-1-1 claiming to be in the trunk of a car with her nine-year-old daughter, Julie, but as inconsistencies mounted, police discovered that Sweeten had, in fact, faked the abduction.

And although husband Richard "Larry" Sweeten has stood by his wife since she and Julie were discovered in Orlando, it seems that enough is enough. He filed for divorce from Bonnie on Wednesday, according to the Philadelphia Daily News.

Bonnie didn't see it coming (really?!).

"Never in a million years did she expect him to file for a divorce, let alone to file for divorce and not tell her," Bonnie's attorney Louis R. Busico told the Daily News.

But the woman's bad news doesn't stop there. Larry has also filed for full custody of the couple's 11-month-old daughter, Faith.

 

[palocal]

Look familiar? If the house doesn't...the car in the driveway should.

http://www.mlsfinder.com/nj_trend/k...065d6-99fb-47cd-8166-33d4650e7520&npp=10&sr=1

 

[palocal]

http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/loc...ust/18/lawyer-connected-to-hoax-mom-sued.html

A Warminster man says Debbie Carlitz pocketed his $100,000 car accident settlement. Bonnie Sweeten was Carlitz's paralegal at the time.

A Warminster man is suing attorney Debbie Carlitz, saying the lawyer, who employed so-called "hoax mom" Bonnie Sweeten, stole his $100,000 car crash settlement.

The alleged fraud happened while Sweeten was working in the office. Carlitz's attorney refused to say more, citing the ongoing FBI investigation.

According to the lawsuit, filed Monday in Bucks County court in Doylestown, Theodore Klein hired Carlitz to represent him following a December 2007 car accident. He said she negotiated a personal injury settlement with his insurance company, and that the company gave Carlitz a check for $100,000 in September 2008.

Both Klein's and Carlitz's names were on the check, according to the lawsuit. Klein said Carlitz cashed the check "purportedly signed" by him.

"Plaintiff...never saw the settlement check nor was he ever aware that a settlement check had been issued," the suit reads.

The suit says Carlitz called Klein in June 2009 and informed him about the settlement, but says he hasn't received any money.

Klein is accusing Carlitz of professional negligence and breach of contract, and is asking the courts to force Carlitz to pay him back. His attorney, Jeffrey Michels, was not available for comment on Monday afternoon.

Carlitz's lawyer, Ellen Brotman, said she had not seen the lawsuit and could not comment on it. But she insisted that Carlitz was not to blame.

"Categorically, Debbie Carlitz has never wrongfully taken a penny of her clients' money," Brotman said. "As to what happened in Mr. Klein's case, I believe the matter is being investigated by state and federal authorities, and it would be inappropriate for me to comment further."
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Brotman refused to say whether she believes Sweeten, who is suspected of stealing from Carlitz's law firm, is behind the theft.

But the case is not the first lawsuit where Sweeten and Carlitz have been connected. There's a $100,000 mortgage default suit pending against Carlitz in Bucks County court. The loan lists Carlitz's name, but Sweeten's address.

Carlitz has denied having anything to do with that loan, which was taken out in September 2006.

Sweeten faces trial in Doylestown later this year for allegedly faking her own abduction. Her frantic call to police, in which she claimed two black men stuffed her and her 9-year-old daughter into the trunk of their car in May, prompted an Amber Alert.

The mother and daughter turned up the next day in Walt Disney World.

Sweeten remains free on bail, and has not been charged with any thefts. State and federal agents searched her home last month, but would not say what they were looking for. First Assistant District Attorney David Zellis refused to comment on Monday, because the investigation is ongoing.

Sweeten's attorney, Louis Busico, refused to comment.

"Considering there's an ongoing investigation, and now a civil case against Ms. Carlitz, I think it's in everyone's best interest to remain silent."

In his lawsuit, Klein also accuses Carlitz of concealing the fact that she was not properly licensed to practice law when he hired her.

Carlitz's Lower Southampton office closed last year after she was suspended for one year and one day. She was disciplined for practicing law while ineligible, having not fulfilled her continuing legal-education requirements.

Carlitz was recently summoned before the state Lawyer Disciplinary Board. Brotman would not comment Monday on the outcome of that hearing.

 

[truecrimejunkie]

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/54301582.html?cmpid=15585797

Sweeten update - claims she stole $280,000 from 92 yr old's retirement fund!

 

[palocal]

http://cbs3.com/topstories/bonnie.sweeten.abduction.2.1146354.html

Nine - 23 months in prison and Dad attacks photographers outside the courtroom!

 

[Texas Mist]

"Hoax mom" denied release for house arrest

DOYLESTOWN, Pa. - February 24, 2010 (WPVI) -- Action News has learned the Bucks County mom who faked a carjacking and kidnapping won't be leaving jail this weekend.

Bonnie Sweeten was set to leave prison for house arrest on February 27th. However, officials say she violated prison rules, and will have to remain in prison until her next court appearance.

The court will then have to reconsider her house arrest and parole status.

Authorities refused to specify exactly which rules were broken.

Sweeten is currently serving a 9-23 month sentence for the crime. She pleaded guilty in August.

http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/local&id=7295638

I have a feeling we haven't heard the last of her & her misbehavior.

 

[Helplessly Hoping]

"Hoax mom" denied release for house arrest

DOYLESTOWN, Pa. - February 24, 2010 (WPVI) -- Action News has learned the Bucks County mom who faked a carjacking and kidnapping won't be leaving jail this weekend.

Bonnie Sweeten was set to leave prison for house arrest on February 27th. However, officials say she violated prison rules, and will have to remain in prison until her next court appearance.

The court will then have to reconsider her house arrest and parole status.

Authorities refused to specify exactly which rules were broken.

Sweeten is currently serving a 9-23 month sentence for the crime. She pleaded guilty in August.

http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/local&id=7295638

I have a feeling we haven't heard the last of her & her misbehavior.

No and as a former client of Ms. Carlitz, whom I found ETHICAL beyond belief--I think she is a victim here as well on a pretty large scale--the $100K thing is nothing.....I wish her well..JMO

 

[Winnts]

Bonnie Sweeten will not be leaving prison this weekend.
The house arrest portion of her sentence, which a Bucks County judge granted after hearing that she was a model prisoner, has been revoked due to her "inappropriate behavior" in the jail.

Officials wouldn't say publicly what the Lower Southampton mother did to earn the ire of prison staff, but sources say Sweeten spent 15 days in solitary confinement because of the conduct, which involved another prisoner.
Sweeten's attorney, Louis Busico, said he will not ask a judge to intervene.
"Unfortunately, the prison has made a decision that she engaged in a series of minor infractions of department of corrections policies. At the present time, I do not intend to bring the situation to the attention of the court, but I may do so in the future," Busico said.

http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/loc.../25/bad-behavior-keeps-sweeten-in-prison.html