JACKSON – A Lowndes County caregiver was sentenced to 10 years for taking money from a vulnerable person in her care, Attorney General Jim Hood said. Godiva Fox, 43, of the 1300 block of 5th Street, in Columbus, entered an open guilty plea to two counts of exploitation of a vulnerable person in Lowndes County Circuit Court before Judge Lee Howard.
Fox refused to accept the state’s recommended sentence and threw herself on the mercy of the court. Judge Howard sentenced Fox to a five year suspended sentence with five years probation on each count to run concurrent and ordered her to pay full restitution in the amount of $12,628.00 to the victim, as well as all court costs and a fine in the amount of $1,000.
Hood said Fox was to care for the victim, who was receiving Social Security checks. Fox took the checks, cashed them and used the money for her own personal benefit within a two-year period. Fox also denied the victim any access to the funds and stopped providing food for the victim and his mother, whom she was also taking care of.
Hood said Fox is related to both victims.
The case was investigated by the Public Integrity Division/Vulnerable Adults Unit of the Attorney General’s Office and prosecuted by Special Assistant Attorneys General Larry Baker and Marvin Sanders.
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