Aunt Gets 9 Months in Theft of Man’s Trust Fund

A Laguna Hills woman was sentenced Friday to nine months in jail after pleading guilty to stealing $52,000 from a trust fund for the AIDS-afflicted nephew she had raised since he was toddler.

Deborha Jean Franckewitz, 36, was placed on five years probation and ordered to repay more than $20,000 to Channon Phipps, who suffers from hemophilia and AIDS.

Phipps was given access to his trust fund when he turned 18 last year and planned to use the money to enjoy the last years of his life. But Phipps said his aunt told him the government had liens against the money and that he should put it in her account to protect it, according to court records.

Phipps told investigators she stole his new car and closed out the $52,000 account in November.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Joseph D’Agostino said the “money was gone in a matter of weeks, (as) she spent extravagant sums, living it up, and possibly buying drugs.”

Franckewitz returned about $21,000 but had spent the rest of the money by the time she was arrested in December. She now must repay him at $400 a month.

Phipps was born a hemophiliac to teen-age parents struggling with alcohol and drug problems. He was raised by his aunt from the age of 1 and called her “Mom.”

At 11 he learned that he had contracted the virus that causes AIDS through blood products provided by UCI Medical Center. In 1989, he settled a lawsuit against the hospital for $125,000. A portion of the settlement was placed in a trust fund.

Franckewitz’s attorney could not be reached for comment.