CHARLESTON - The estate of a deceased Kanawha County man has filed a suit against his ex-wife, claiming she stole Pittsburgh Steelers season football tickets that were left to the man's heirs.
The suit also alleges Jane Alderman used stolen checks to purchase several large items without the knowledge of her ex-husband, John Alderman Jr., when he was in hospice care and after his death.
The estate of John Wilbur Alderman Jr. filed the suit Oct. 1 in Kanawha Circuit Court, against Jane Alderman.
According to the suit, Jane Alderman stole checks from John Alderman while he suffered from terminal liver and lung cancer. The suit says Jane Alderman wrote more than 20 checks from her ex-husband's personal bank account for her personal business, even though she was not listed as a signatory on the account.
Jane Alderman used the checking account to purchase both professional and college football tickets, which she later scalped for a profit, the suit says. According to the suit, Jane Alderman unlawfully converted the decedent's Pittsburgh Steelers season ticket licenses to her name, despite the tickets being an item that was supposed to be passed to John Alderman's children and grandchildren, according to his will and pre-death wishes.
She also used the account to pay her personal utility, insurance and business bills.
Her actions continued even after John Alderman's death, the suit says.
"(Jane Alderman) used fraudulent checks for her own personal benefit and profit while the decedent was extremely terminally ill, virtually incapacitated, and unable to review any checks or engage in any business transactions," the suit says.
According to the suit, John Alderman's bank contacted Jane Alderman and told her to stop all fraudulent activity on his account, but she continued.
The estate of John Alderman claims it is entitled to the proceeds of the accounts and securities, which they claim Jane Alderman stole.
In the nine-count suit, the estate seeks compensatory and punitive damages, as well as an injunction stopping Jane Alderman from refusing to return the wrongfully obtained property.
Attorney Ancil Ramey is representing the estate of John Alderman Jr. The case has been assigned to Judge Charlie King.
