LEXINGTON — A Lexington man has been charged in federal court with wire fraud after prosecutors say he exploited a trusting relationship with an elderly woman, siphoning more than $300,000 from her accounts over several years while she was suffering from dementia. Donald Charles Beaty is charge d in a single-count federal information filed in the Eastern District of Kentucky alleging wire fraud tied to a scheme that prosecutors say ran from 2018 through late 2023. The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Robert E. Wier, with proceedings referred to U.S. Magistrate Judge Matthew A. Stinnett. According to court documents, the victim — identified only as “Victim 1” — was born in 1935 and lived in Lexington. Prosecutors allege Beaty befriended her around 2018 and gained access to her financial information under the pretense of helping manage and pay her bills. Instead, federal prosecutors say Beaty persuaded the woman to write him checks, give him cash, and grant him access to her bank accounts, then deposited the money into his own accounts and routed funds to other entities for his personal benefit. From 2020 through 2023 alone, Beaty allegedly received more than $300,000 from the victim, according to the charging document. The scheme allegedly escalated after February 2022, when prosecutors say Beaty knew the woman was suffering from dementia and was no longer able to make financial decisions on her own. Despite that, he is accused of continuing to accept checks and even driving her to the bank to withdraw cash from her accounts. One example cited in the charging document describes a February 22, 2022 transaction in which Beaty allegedly deposited a $3,500 check from the victim into his own Stock Yards Bank account, then used electronic transfers to move money to other accounts, including a payment to Santander Bank in his own name. The information also alleges Beaty knew that his daughter, Sidney Beaty, was stealing funds from the same victim to pay her own credit card bills. A related federal case against Sidney Beaty is pending separately in the Eastern District of Kentucky, according to the docket. Beaty is represented by Lexington attorney Rawl Douglas Kazee under a court-appointed arrangement. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrea Mattingly Williams. If convicted, Beaty faces up to 20 years in federal prison, a fine of up to $250,000 — or twice the amount gained or lost — and up to three years of supervised release. Prosecutors are also seeking restitution and forfeiture of proceeds tied to the alleged fraud, including a potential money judgment representing the full amount obtained through the scheme. Beaty was arraigned earlier this month. Further proceedings have not yet been scheduled. The post Lexington man charged in federal wire fraud case tied to alleged exploitation of elderly woman appeared first on The Lexington Times. ...read more read less