Nashville Standard

Karl Hampton, 65, of Chattanooga, Tennessee, has been sentenced to 60 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release and ordered to pay over $1.2 million in restitution for defrauding an elderly widow with dementia. The announcement was made by Henry C. Leventis, United States Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee.

Hampton and his wife Deborah were indicted in June 2021 on multiple counts of conspiracy and money laundering. Karl Hampton faced additional charges including eight counts of wire fraud. Following a week-long jury trial in April 2023, he was convicted on all counts.

Evidence presented at the trial revealed that Karl Hampton met the 86-year-old widow while working as an exterminator for a Nashville-based pest control company. Between January 2018 and February 2020, he deceived her into believing he would provide personal and financial care. Posing as her “personal representative,” “son,” or “godson,” Hampton convinced her to sign over her Power of Attorney and include him in her Revocable Living Trust and will in April 2019. Subsequently, he drained her bank accounts, took out a $500,000 line of credit in her name, and incurred significant charges on her credit cards for personal expenses.

Some stolen funds originated from two investment accounts belonging to the estate of the woman’s deceased sister—funds intended to be shared between the widow and another individual but instead transferred by Hampton to himself.

Overall, Hampton extracted more than $1.2 million through various means including checks, cashier’s checks, bank transfers, cash withdrawals, and credit card misuse for his benefit. He purchased luxury items such as a car, an SUV, a diamond ring worth over $21,000, and frequently spent more than $1,000 daily on lottery tickets.

Deborah Hampton pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering on February 13, 2023. She received a sentence equivalent to time served along with three years of supervised release and was ordered to pay restitution amounting to $21,000.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Memphis Field Office in conjunction with its Nashville Resident Agency. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn Booth prosecuted the case.