The Office of Kansas Attorney General

EMPORIA – An Emporia woman was sentenced today to more than seven years in prison for mistreatment of a dependent adult and conspiring to mistreat a dependent adult, Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt said.

 Dalene Miller, 56, was sentenced to 91 months in the Kansas Department of Corrections by Judge W. Lee Fowler in Lyon County District Court.  In July, Miller was convicted of the charges by a Lyon County jury following a four-day trial. The case stemmed from a complaint sent to Adult Protective Services in May 2011.

 An investigation by the attorney general’s Medicaid Fraud and Abuse Division and the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office discovered that between July 2011 and January 2012, Miller acted as durable power of attorney and a trustee for her mother-in-law and made purchases including a house, farm and truck while her mother-in-law’s expenses went unpaid.

 Assistant Attorney General Stefani Hepford prosecuted the case with assistance from the Lyon County Attorney’s Office.

 Charges remain pending against Miller’s husband, Rick Miller, who is scheduled to face trial in November. He is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.