Officials: Oceanside couple stole thousands from sick relative

An Oceanside couple faces felony charges after prosecutors said they stole nearly $185,000 from a sick relative and used the money on a Sweet 16 party for their daughter, along with vacations, concert tickets, college tuition and rent.

Philip and Debilyn Neidecker, both 47, face a possible 5 to 15 years in prison if found guilty on the top charge, the Nassau district attorney's office said.

At their Hempstead court arraignments Thursday, both defendants pleaded not guilty to a felony charge of grand larceny as well as felony and misdemeanor counts of criminal possession of a forged instrument, according to authorities.

The married couple stole the money from Philip Neidecker’s uncle, who was hospitalized at age 64 while recovering from a stroke, authorities said.

Lynbrook attorney Nathan DeCorpo, who represents Philip Neidecker, said Thursday that only a small portion of the money may have been misused.

“We believe a majority of the funds were spent for the benefit of the complainant," DeCorpo said in an interview.

A representative of Nassau's Legal Aid Society, which represents Debilyn Neidecker, declined to comment on the case.

Prosecutors said the couple obtained a power of attorney order for the uncle in January 2014 while he was hospitalized, then opened an account in his name — without his consent — at the credit union where Debilyn Neidecker worked.

From then until August 2017, the couple withdrew $138,000 from the uncle's account at a bank without his permission, and put the money into the new account, according to prosecutors.

The defendants also opened a credit card in the uncle's name, racking up nearly $30,000 in bills, and added a car loan in his name for about $16,000, the district attorney's office said.

The couple spent about $10,000 of the stolen funds on the Sweet 16 party, the district attorney's office said.

In fall 2017, two sisters of the uncle realized payments on his assisted living residence weren't being made and took over as his power of attorney designees, according to prosecutors, who said they started a probe soon thereafter.

Authorities said a district court judge released the husband and wife conditionally to probation.