A Calistoga woman has been sentenced to 16 months in prison for embezzlement, elder abuse and tax evasion in a case involving a Yolo County resident.
Denise Ann Conophy, 51, pleaded guilty in January and was sentenced today by Yolo County Superior Court Judge Janet Gaard. The court also ordered the transfer of more than $300,000 in money and property, seized from Conophy, to the victim as payment of restitution.
The victim hired Conophy to handle her bookkeeping and other financial affairs relating to a business that the victim operated in St. Helena. Over the course of her seven years of employment, Conophy transferred the victim's assets to various accounts and used them to pay for her personal bills and to start an Internet business, according to a Yolo County District Attorney's Office news release.
The victim's family members discovered the theft when the victim was hospitalized and they found that her life's savings had been depleted.
During the investigation, the California Franchise Tax Board determined that Conophy had failed to file a state income tax return during an eight-year period and had failed to report the stolen funds as income.
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