Las Vegas woman sentenced to prison for defrauding elderly

A Las Vegas woman was sentenced Tuesday in West Virginia to more than seven years in federal prison for defrauding the elderly.

Shelly Leipham was found guilty by a jury in April of wire fraud, mail fraud and money laundering, according to a news release from the U.S. attorney’s office for the Northern District of West Virginia.

Leipham was accused of calling an elderly victim living in Harrison County and claiming the victim had won $1 million. Leipham defrauded the victim of nearly $25,000 by directing the victim to send that amount to her over the course of a two-year period, the news release states.

“Leipham badgered and manipulated her elderly victims by calling them over and over again,” U.S. Attorney William Ihlenfeld said in the news release. “The lengthy prison term imposed today was necessary in order to address her callous conduct.”

In addition to serving an 87-month prison term, Leipham must pay a $336,402 judgment.

Contact Glen A. Meek at gmeek@reviewjournal.com or 602-380-8951. Follow @GlenMeekLV on Twitter.