Kansas City man embezzles funds, takes advantage of near-blind landlord

A Kansas City, Missouri, man was recently indicted on 82 counts by a federal grand jury for embezzlement and identity theft, InfoZine reports. Sean Patrick Taylor allegedly stole more than $133,000 from two local charities - Westport Cooperative Services and the Epilepsy Foundation of Kansas and Western Missouri - between April 2007 and May 2010. The news source notes that Taylor swindled $78,227 from the Epilepsy Foundation by opening a bank account in the entity's name without authorization which he then used to filter checks. He stole $46,638 from WCS by forging signatures of board members in order to open a bank account under the company's name without proper identity verification. Furthermore, Taylor allegedly opened two lines of credit under his visually impaired landlord's name, collecting more than $5,000 between March and May 2010. The Kansas City Star reports that the Epilepsy Foundation has attempted to sue Taylor to recoup the funds, and its organizations have recovered from the monetary setback. "We have worked hard and are very proud to have restored [our] programs," Epilepsy Foundation executive director Darla Templeton told the news source.