Former Judge Diane Vettori-Caraballo of Youngstown, Ohio, was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison and three years of supervised release for stealing from her deceased client’s estate.  Vettori-Caraballo also owes $328,000 in restitution.

Vettori-Caraballo plead guilty to one count of mail fraud, one count of structuring cash deposits, and one count of making false statements to law enforcement.

Vettori-Caraballo stole at least $100,000 in cash that was in the home of a client when that client died in March 2016, according to court documents.

“The fact that the defendant stole at least $100,000 from an elderly person who trusted her to administer their estate is heartbreaking,” US Attorney Justin Herdman said. “The fact that thief in this case was a sitting judge who swore to uphold the law is outrageous.”

Vettori-Caraballo provided estate planning services to Robert Sampson, including drafting his will. On Nov. 20, 2015, Vettori-Caraballo filed an application in Mahoning County Probate Court to administer Sampson’s estate. The application stated Sampson died without a will. The probate court, unaware of Sampson’s will, appointed Falgiani as the administrator three days later, according to the indictment.

Sampson died in 2015 and his closest living relative was his sister, Dolores Falgiani. Vettori-Caraballo prepared Falgiani will on Nov. 3, 2015. The will made 16 specific bequests to relatives and friends and bequeathed the rest of the estate to Animal Charity Human Society of Boardman and the Angels for Animal Charity in Canfield, according to court documents.

Sometime in October or November 2015, Falgiani stated she was in possession of several shoeboxes of cash stored at her residence. Falgiani was found dead in her home on March 10, 2016, according to court documents.

Vettori-Caraballo filed an application in Mahoning County Probate Court to probate Falgiani’s estate on March 24, 2016. On May 2, she reported having found cash in the residence and depositing the $20,000 into the estate, according to court documents.

Vettori-Caraballo filed a notice of newly discovered assets with the court on several subsequent occasions in 2016 and 2017. Each time, she failed to disclose the cash she had stolen, according to court documents.

Vettori-Caraballo also structured deposits of the cash she stole into five different banks within four weeks to avoid regulations that require banks to report cash transactions over $10,000 to the IRS. In addition, Vettori-Caraballo lied to the FBI when she was confronted about the theft and the structuring of cash deposits, according to court documents.