Youth’s Aunt Held in Theft of Trust Fund

The aunt of Channon Phipps, the teen-age hemophiliac with AIDS who was the first California student to sue his way back to class, was arrested and charged Friday with grand theft in connection with her nephew’s trust fund, authorities said.

Deborha Jean Franckewitz, 36, was taken into custody at 3 a.m. at the Lake Forest Comfort Inn by Orange County Sheriff’s Department deputies bearing an arrest warrant. She was being held Friday night in Orange County Jail in lieu of $250,000 bail.

Franckewitz, who has been Phipps’ legal guardian since he was a year old, could not be reached for comment. In a telephone message left for The Times, her husband, Jim Franckewitz, said the charges are “drummed up.” He could not be reached later to elaborate.

Sheriff’s Department spokesman Lt. Dick Olson said: “It is my understanding that this is over money that was in a trust account for the kid.”

He said he could not provide details late Friday, but noted that her bail is higher that the usual $10,000 for a grand theft charge because she is considered a flight risk.

Phipps, now 18, said Friday that his aunt tricked him into signing over to her his $57,000 settlement from a lawsuit, then drove out of town with his brand-new Mustang. He has not talked to her since.

“She basically stole my money and my car,” said Phipps of the woman who in 1985 fought the school system on behalf of the then-fifth-grader. “From what I know there was about $57,000 from the lawsuit against UC Irvine Medical Center over the blood products they had given me.”

He said the money was held in a trust until he turned 18, which was Nov. 1.

“She told me that we had to get it out (of a bank account in Phipps’ name) and put it in Wells Fargo Bank because there was a lien put on the money, and putting it in the bank would hide it and protect it from Social Security,” Phipps said.

“She tricked me and had me sign a paper saying I was giving my money away to her. She put the money in her name in different accounts and left me $500,” he said. “Then after she had me sign that (document), she split.”

According to Phipps, his aunt left their Laguna Hills home with her son by a previous relationship several days after the trust funds were transferred. About a week later, Phipps said, she returned to get her husband and his son, and they packed up their motor home and other belongings.

Other Phipps relatives offered similar stories.

“Debi left him in the driveway crying,” said Phipps’ maternal aunt, Kathy Saddler. “It’s just wrong what she did and I think she should pay for that. He was going to live on that money for as long as he could.”

Phipps’ father, Chuck, with whom the youth has been staying in Anaheim, said Deborha Franckewitz traveled north and ended up in Idaho, calling a neighbor and other relatives every few days promising to return with the car and money.

Channon Phipps’ mother died in August, 1990.