WICHITA, Kan. — A retired financial adviser who took more than $800,000 from a retired widow was sentenced Tuesday to three years and two months in prison after a judge rejected his plea for probation.
Walter "Bud" Hollis, 73, of Wichita, pleaded guilty earlier this year to felony theft. Prosecutors said he embezzled the money from trust funds from 2014 to 2018, after the woman had been his client for many years.
The 75-year-old victim testified Tuesday that she trusted Hollis to manage her estate after her husband died. She said he had destroyed her sense of security in retirement and denied her children and stepchildren their inheritance.
Hollis asked the judge for probation, citing his age and medical issues. He blamed his crimes on a difficult upbringing and a gambling addiction.
The judge also ordered Hollis to pay $822,322 to the victim.
