Maple Grove City Council member faces tougher sentence
A Maple Grove City Council member's sentence for financial exploitation of her deceased father was too lenient, the Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday.
LeAnn Bobleter Sargent pleaded guilty last year to one count of financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult. Hennepin County District Court Judge Luis Bartolomei sentenced her to 120 days in the county workhouse when she should've received a 36-month prison felony sentence, according to the ruling.
Sargent had requested the lesser sentence in part to keep her job on the city council, court documents say.
Sargent, who still serves on the Maple Grove City Council, had power of attorney over her elderly father's finances. He moved to her house in 2010 where he stayed until he died in 2012.
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Sargent was to provide her father room, board and personal care for $2,000 a month, according to a contractual agreement he had with her.
But prosecutors said Sargent drafted an additional $73,000 from her father's checking account and credit cards.
She also allegedly used the power of attorney to take out a $58,000 mortgage on a cabin her father owned to pay the outstanding mortgage on a townhouse she was set to inherit from him.
Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman agreed with the court's decision.
"We believe that all citizens found guilty of a felony crime, whether a public official or not, whether a white-collar crime or not, should be sentenced according to the Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines, unless there is a profound reason not to do so," Freeman said.
Sargent has 30 days to decide whether to appeal. No court date has been set for her new sentencing.
Attempts to reach Sargent Tuesday were unsuccessful.