Kansas Woman Sentenced for Stealing from Elderly Victims

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A Junction City, Ks., woman was sentenced in federal court for stealing from an elderly couple for whom she served as an informal caretaker.

Amanda Rutherford, 46, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Greg Kays, for one count of interstate transportation of stolen goods. Rutherford was sentenced to six years imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $165,381.59 in restitution to the elderly victims. This successful prosecution is one of many federal fraud cases pursued under the leadership of President Donald Trump and through the establishment of the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud.

In 2022, the Dickinson County, Kansas Sheriff's Office received a report that several items, including firearms, and more than $400,000 in collector coins, were stolen from the farmhouse of an octogenarian married couple. Rutherford had lived on the property and claimed to be an informal caregiver for the couple. In early 2024, the Sheriff's Office received a tip that Rutherford sold gold and silver coins to a jewelry store in Clay County, Mo. and received checks totaling $100,000. After confirming the sale with the jewelry store, a search warrant was served on Rutherford's vehicle soon after she cashed the checks. The search revealed newly purchased merchandise, the remainder of the bundled currency, and other coins belonging to the victims. Rutherford claimed the victims had given her permission to sell the coins and split the proceeds with them, which the victims denied. Rutherford sold the victim's coins to at least three other pawn shops from October 2023 through March of 2024.

This case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda K. Hanson. It was investigated by the Dickinson County Kansas Sheriff's Office and Department of Homeland Security's Homeland Security Investigations unit.

National Fraud Enforcement Division
On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division. The core mission of the Fraud Division is to zealously investigate and prosecute those who steal or fraudulently misuse taxpayer dollars. Department of Justice efforts to combat fraud support President Trump's Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.