A Leesburg woman who used a power of attorney to systematically drain nearly $350,000 from her elderly, widowed neighbor was remanded to the Lake County Jail without bond after a jury convicted her earlier this month, with her sentencing scheduled for Monday. Kimberly Ruth Bitting, 58, had been released on a $185,000 bond since her arrest in September 2024, but that changed with the jury’s decision on August 13.
According to Leesburg-News.com, Bitting is currently behind bars awaiting a sentencing hearing on August 24. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced the conviction earlier this week, claiming Bitting obtained power of attorney over her elderly neighbor shortly after the victim’s husband died in August 2021 and then used that authority to isolate and financially exploit her, according to Florida Politics.
According to Florida Politics, Uthmeier stated that Bitting “systematically exploited a vulnerable senior widow grieving her husband’s death” and that Florida will not allow persons who prey on the elderly under the pretext of caregiving or trust. According to Drew Dixon’s report on the case, prosecutors allege that Bitting restricted the victim’s connections with her family and threatened to declare her incompetent and committed.
According to Florida Politics, Bitting transferred funds from the victim’s accounts to her personal bank accounts, her daughter’s bank account, and investment accounts over the course of around a year and half. She also wrote checks from the victim’s accounts and took many ATM withdrawals during that time, according to the outlet. Jurors saw bank records and ATM surveillance video corroborating the unauthorized withdrawals, and Bitting was found guilty of a third-degree felony count of cashing or depositing an item with intent to defraud, as well as three felony counts of elderly exploitation, according to the Florida Attorney General’s Office.
The Attorney General’s Office stated that approximately $137,000 of the stolen funds were used to purchase two plots of land in Calhoun County, which were titled under a private trust bearing Bitting’s own name. That property document trail served as critical physical proof of the breach of fiduciary responsibility at trial.
According to Florida Politics, the victim eventually left Bitting’s home on her own choice, moving to New York to live with her sister. After the elderly woman escaped Bitting’s grip and revoked her power of attorney, Bitting reported her voluntary departure to law authorities as a kidnapping, according to the attorney general’s office and Click Orlando.
Leesburg Police Detective Thomas Kauffman investigated the matter in collaboration with the Attorney General’s Senior Protection Team, which at the time of the September 2024 charges was led by then-Attorney General Ashley Moody, and the 5th Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office. Moody was succeeded in the job by Uthmeier, who was chosen by Governor Ron DeSantis and began serving as Florida’s 39th Attorney General on February 17, 2025, following Moody’s appointment to the United States Senate.
Two further individuals were accused in September 2024. Lara Larsen, 59, worked as a caregiver for the victim and was charged with organized fraud. She was released on a $15,000 bond and eventually testified for the state in Bitting’s trial. Ashton Brianne Silvis, then 37, was accused alongside Larsen and released on a $20,000 bond before pleading guilty to obtaining funds from the victim’s bank accounts.
Silvis is currently awaiting punishment alongside Bitting, but no date for her hearing has been set, according to Florida Politics. Larsen’s final case status was not addressed in the Attorney General’s announcement, leaving her outcome unclear after the trial.
The case was handled by the Office of Statewide Prosecution, and Uthmeier credited Ana Sacco and Taylor Chatting, as well as the Leesburg Police Department, with assisting in securing the conviction. According to Florida Statute Section 825.103, financial exploitation of an older person involving assets worth $50,000 or more is a first-degree felony punishable by up to 30 years in jail.
Cases like Bitting’s highlight why elder financial exploitation continues to be a key enforcement priority in Florida, which has more than 5 million persons aged 65 and older, accounting for nearly 21% of the entire population. Suspected elder financial exploitation should be reported to the Department of Children and Families’ Florida Abuse Hotline at 1-800-962-2873 or Adult Protective Services.
Leave a Comment