A Tacoma woman who participated in a massive fraud that ensnared dozens of solders from Joint Base Lewis-McChord and victimized her own grandmother was sentenced Monday to 10 years in prison.

But Jannie Lee got a break when Superior Court Judge Thomas Larkin ruled she was eligible for a special sentencing alternative available to drug addicts. Under the alternative, she can qualify for release after serving five years. Authorities would use the remaining five years as leverage to ensure Lee remains drug and crime free.

“It certainly is disheartening to everyone that you victimized your own grandmother, who is a …

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A large identity theft ring based in Spanaway was taken down this week, according to the Pierce County Prosecutor’s Office.

Two men, aged 32 and 26, and a woman, 32, were charged with multiple counts related to identity theft and unlawfully possessing firearms.

The trio pleaded not guilty Tuesday and were ordered jailed in lieu of $150,000 each.

The investigation started Sunday after the ring’s leader led deputies on a brief pursuit while riding a stolen motorcycle.

While in jail, deputies monitored the man’s telephone calls and heard him asking friends to sell stolen guns to bail him out and …

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A Tacoma man was sentenced to 33 months in prison today for his role in a scheme that tried to claim more than $145,000 in tax refunds using the names and social security numbers of prison inmates.

Richard Wright, 43, was also sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $71,885 in restitution to the U.S. Department of Treasury.

Wright and his associated filed fake W-2 forms and federals income tax returns using names and social security numbers of inmates at the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Prosecutors said Kenneth …

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Anna Sturtz denied stealing $220,000 from her father, then blamed his failing memory.

Family members didn’t buy her story and neither do Pierce County prosecutors, who charged the 60-year-old woman with eight counts of first-degree theft and six counts of second-degree theft. She has not yet been arraigned on the charges.

The immediate concern is whether Sturtz’s 81-year-old dad, who suffers from dementia and is in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease, has enough money to make do.

“His bank accounts are almost completely depleted,” according to charging papers. The victim’s “health is deteriorating and the family is concerned that …

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A Federal Way man used fake checks totaling more than $184,000 to boost his lifestyle, including moving into a new house and buying two new cars, police said.

Steve Cho, 54, allegedly used the checks at businesses throughout Pierce and King counties. King County prosecutors are still weighing charges against him. He was released from jail Monday after posting bail.

Officers first arrested Cho Feb. 27 after discovering he and his 16-year-old daughter had illegally moved into a house for sale in the 33600 block of 7^th Ct SW. The house was listed for $650,000.

Cho wrote a bad $8,087 …

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The 96-year-old man died in a University Place nursing home with no money. Authorities say it’s because his niece siphoned more than $400,000 from his bank accounts and stopped paying for his care.

That was back in 2010. This morning, Betsey Cammon pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of theft. She was ordered jailed in lieu of $25,000 bail.

Cammon, 54, was appointed power-of-attorney over her uncle’s estate in 1998 but didn’t resume an active role until 2009, when her uncle was placed in a nursing home because he was suffering from dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

By that time, Pierce …

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There’s no disputing that the elderly Lakewood man with dementia gave hundreds of thousands of dollars to a woman fifty years his junior.

Madonna Page, 36, told authorities that she “takes care of him and he takes care of her,” according to court records. She said there was no romantic relationship, she just cooks and cleans for him. After all, she had an 81-year-old husband of her own.

The 86-year-old man, who lived alone after his wife was placed in an adult family home and suffers from a litany of serious health problems, told investigators having a girlfriend was expensive. …

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A Spanaway couple that owns a towing business was ordered to pay nearly $23,000 in restitution after pleading guilty to charges that they continued to employ workers after the state ordered them not to due to insurance issues.

Sandra and Billie Rouse had their insurance for A1 Towing Services revoked by the Department of Labor & Industries in 2011 after they didn’t pay for their employees’ workers compensation insurance.

The Rouses told an agent they were operating the towing company without employees, according to court records. In fact, the couple employed at least six people.

They pleaded guilty to engaging …

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