Sandra Jean Valencia, from Goodsprings, NV, pled guilty to all 15 counts of the indictment: six counts of mail fraud, five counts of wire fraud, and four counts of tax evasion. Valencia, whose trial was scheduled to begin this morning, entered her plea before Judge Michael Davis in Minneapolis.

Valencia had been appointed by her grandmother, Alice Wobig, who lived on a farm near Zumbrota, Minnesota.  Valendia was given control over her grandmother’s brokerage accounts and bank accounts with power of attorney prior to Alice Wobig’s death and as trustee of her estate after she passed away.   Valencia admitted in court that she used her positions under the power of attorney and as the trustee from 1997 through April 2000 to transfer the vast majority of Alice Wobig’s assets to herself.

As part of her fraud scheme, Valencia depleted Alice Wobig’s stock holdings in a Pier Jaffray account, sold 76 acres of her farmland and her household belongings, and emptied her bank accounts.  Valencia also deposited approximately $41,000 of Wobig’s life insurance proceeds into her own account.

Valencia used the embezzled funds in a variety of ways, including to pay for real estate in Nevada and West Virginia, to purchase a motor home, and for dog training.

During her guilty plea, Valencia also admitted to evading income taxes for calendar years 1997 through 2000.  For 1997, Valencia admitted filing a tax return which reported only her IRS income.  For 1998 through 2000, she admitted not filing any return.  In each year, Valencia admitted taking additional steps to avoid the payment of taxes she owed.

Valencia faces a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and/or a $250,000 fine on each of the 15 counts. The actual sentence will be determined by Judge Davis based on the federal sentencing guidelines.  A sentencing date has not been set.

The case is the result of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation Division and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mike Cheever.