Aunt Faces Trial in Alleged Theft From AIDS Patient : Courts: Channon Phipps, 18, still calls the woman accused of looting his trust ‘mom.’ The Laguna Hills resident, who has pleaded not guilty, remains in custody.

Deborha Franckewitz, the woman accused of stealing more than $50,000 and a new car from the AIDS-infected nephew she raised as a son, was ordered Tuesday to stand trial on a single grand theft charge.

The youth, Channon Phipps, now 18, testified Tuesday that the woman he still calls “mom” is responsible for looting his trust account and leaving the state in late November with his beloved Mustang.

Orange County Municipal Judge Ronald P. Kreber ruled there was sufficient evidence to support a single charge of grand theft filed against Franckewitz. The Laguna Hills woman, who has pleaded not guilty, remains in custody in lieu of $250,000 bail. She will be arraigned in Superior Court on Jan. 12.

Franckewitz, 36, became Phipps’ legal guardian when he was a year old, after his own parents could no longer care for the infant, who was born with hemophilia. Phipps learned at the age of 10 that he had contracted the AIDS virus from blood products, and for years Franckewitz helped her nephew battle the disease.

When he wasn’t allowed into public school because of his HIV infection, Phipps successfully sued the Saddleback Valley Unified School District, becoming the first California student to do so.

He was later awarded $125,000 and Franckewitz received $50,000 as part of a settlement with UCI Medical Center over the blood products that gave him the AIDS virus at an early age, according to court testimony.

Franckewitz was arrested Dec. 11 after returning to California from a road trip to Idaho in the Mustang. About $5,500 of Phipps’ money was used to post bail for Franckewitz’s husband, James, who was arrested in Idaho on suspicion of assault after a traffic altercation, prosecutors claim.

Franckewitz has returned about $16,000 and Phipps’ car, but about $34,000 has yet to be accounted for, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Joseph D’Agostino. Phipps’ is not employed. The trust fund represented his sole financial support.

Defense attorney Gary Tannehill declined to discuss the details of the case.

After court and attorneys’ fees, paying for his new car and medical bills, the settlement Phipps received from the hospital totaled about $53,000 and was placed in trust for him. He was to gain sole access to the money when he turned 18 on Nov. 1.

But Phipps testified Tuesday that Franckewitz persuaded him to hide his money from the government by placing about $50,000 in an account in her name.

Phipps testified he moved out of Franckewitz’s house in November after a fight about his alleged drug abuse. He said he learned a few days later that she left the state with his car and cash.

The court case has sparked ugly allegations between Phipps and Franckewitz, who at one time were a close-knit family. Phipps and Franckewitz have accused each other of drug abuse and theft. Phipps admitted in court Tuesday he has experimented with drugs but said he no longer uses illegal narcotics.

Curtis Hoopes, investigator for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, testified that Franckewitz’s sister, who lives in Idaho, described Franckewitz as “strung out, ranting and raving” during her trip in November. The sister quoted Franckewitz as saying that Phipps had no right to the money or the car.

At several points during his testimony, Franckewitz shook her head in disagreement with Phipps’ testimony. She turned repeatedly to her husband, who was sitting in the audience, and mouthed the words “he’s lying,” before being silenced by a bailiff.