Sturgeon Bay-man from an 81-year-old city of Nasuzhi received the maximum sentence permissible for his sentence on 15 charges of fraud, that he deceived almost two dozen elderly residents of the door of more than $ 1.1 million in his role as their financial planning and tax preparation.
Dale Forest Pautsh was sentenced on May 29 by DOOR County Judge Jennifer Moller to a total of 15 consecutive years in a state prison, one year for each of the 15 census, which includes an adult or disabled crime. It will also serve another 15 years of expanded supervision, again one year sequentially for each count, when and if released.
Dale Pautsh, on the left, sits close to his lawyer, Bret Retz, before awarding his hearing for his theft in sentences for business in the center of the county of the door in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, on Thursday, May 29, 2025, was convicted to serve 15 years in prison.
Pautsh is also forbidden to own or manage a business, work as a financial advisor or tax trainer, and process money or checks on someone else. His assets, which include a home in Nasuupe and a business that he bought and runs on revenue from his crimes, the small brown invited tavern in the city of Gardner were seized after he was sentenced and auctioned to help Pautsh make financial restitution of his victims.
During the hearing, it was revealed in the court that the investigation before Pautsh’s sentence recommended that he be sentenced to three to four years in prison, citing his age and that he seemed to be remorseful and took responsibility for his actions.
But nine people who were victims of Pautsh gave statements in court, along with a letter read out loud by District Prosecutor Colin Nordin, saying that they were devastated by Pautsh’s crimes, not only because of $ 10 000, and more than $ 610,000, and another person out of $ 10,000. There have been a few who asked the court to condemn Pautsh to at least enough time, which would essentially become a life sentence for the 81-year-old.
“Dale took our money, took our life, took my trust, my spirit,” said a victim named Joan in court (surnames of victims who gave statements were not given to protect their identity), adding that Pautsh took advantage of working with her husband when he was involved in dementia. “Please make Dale at enough years that he will never see the light of the day again.”
“My world is upside down because of Dale Puttsh’s actions,” said a victim named Carol, who noted that Pautsh was making financial plans with her husband while the husband was in the hospital to recover from a stroke. “I absolutely feel that he must be given a maximum sentence for each of his crimes.”
“Anyone who commits a crime against the elderly is really evil,” said a man who identifies himself as a son -in -law of one of the victims. “He must be closed in order not to find other people to steal from.”
Several also said that they gave Pautsch money for him to file tax returns that had never been filed and dealt with IRS and the State Department of Revenue, as these agencies seek to collect, with interest and penalties for late fees.
A woman named Carolyn said she and her husband should borrow against her husband’s life insurance policy and their pension accounts to make payments to IRS. She said they suffered from insomnia, stress and health -related problems, as they learned that they were deceived by Pautsh.
“We would like to be retired, but now we can’t afford it,” she said. “We feel betrayed. (Pautsch) must suffer from the way we do every day.”
A victim named Jeremiah said he and his family now receive monthly IRS notifications because of Pautsch’s work for them.
“My family had stress, anxiety, anxiety and crushed spirits because of Mr. Putsh,” he said. “What was done was not a mistake, it was a deliberate fraud.
A victim named Elizabeth said Pautsh was initially accused and she began to receive notifications – which she was still receiving – from IRS, at about the same time as her father died.
“I had to grieve with my family,” she said. “Instead, I was buried in the documents and paid IRS money to prevent them from getting into my home. I will never return it.”
In his request for a maximum sentence, Nordin stated that he “could not agree more” with the recommendation for an investigation before a sentence of a sentence of three to four years.
Nordin not only leaned against the statements of the victims given in court, but also written statements from other victims, who said that Pautsh had gone out of his way to make friends with them, “cozy” to them, and ultimately to learn their vulnerabilities, and then take advantage of them. She quoted how many casualties said they were devastated and still engaged in anxiety as they try to correct their lives, financially and otherwise.
“He was a predator,” Nordin said. “He sought people, gained their trust, raised them, found them when they were vulnerable.”
Nordin also challenged the report of the report before the sentence that Pautsh was concerned and took responsibility for his actions, noting some neglectful remarks that Pautsh made for some of his victims in the report, including two who were immigrants.
She also noted that while in prison in the County in anticipation of resolving his deeds, Putsh received forms for reporting from the State Department of Revenue he filled in to try to blame his victims of financial fraud, not for him. She suggested that Putsh did this not only to try to free herself, but also to collect the fees for the submission of persons to the state. The forms were trapped in prison before they could be sent by mail.
“Saying that these people are deceiving the system, not him, is not responsible or remorse,” Nordin said.
Nordin said he wanted Pautsh to receive the maximum sentence for each piece, no less time for the number, involving less money, because these victims also experienced suffering. She also said that the sentence should not be mild because of the age of Pautsh and current health problems.
“Being 81 does not take what he did to them,” Nordin said. “I realize that he may not be away from it and I’m perfectly well with it.”
Defense Defender Brett Retz has admitted that the victims’ statements are captivating and moving, but he maintains that Pautsh is concerned and said that Pautsh was not able to operate people more than his age and health.
“He understands what he did, why he was wrong and how wrong he was,” Ritz said. “Initially, he had a real conviction that he had a power of attorney … At first he did not understand that he was wrong. He was doing it now. I work with Dale to help him understand what he had taken, that they were not their money, but their life.
“I don’t want to take this lightly, to slap him on the wrist. He’s already without money, an elderly man with serious health problems. He has nothing to give.”
Pautsh apologized to his victims and told the court that he wanted them to get their money back.
“I hurt a lot of people very badly,” he said. “Everything they worked for, I took. I’m embarrassed for my family, my friends. I’m really ashamed of what I have become and what I did.”
Before the sentence was sentenced, Moller noted that the pernicious victims of influence had said they had experienced because of Pautsh’s crimes and how he found victims that were particularly vulnerable. She also said that the report before the sentence shows Pautsh’s remorse, which mine is more because he was caught than for his actions.
“That’s the money, but it’s much more,” Moller said. “People used phrases like, he destroyed my family, he destroyed my life, crushed my spirit, devastated, demoralized, took away my trust. It is unthinkable how you think you are helping them.”
Together with the sentence, a hearing was scheduled for 1 pm November 3 to review the progress of the restitution that Pautsh makes to his victims.
Pautsh came not guilty during his initial appearance on the court on August 19, but changed his requests to any competition during February 12th. He was originally arrested and charged with four charges against two casualties last June, but a subsequent investigation by the sheriff of the door and the Sturgeon Bay police office found others who were deceived by him.
All said, Pautsch has been charged and has not given up a competition for 13 thefts in a business environment and two money laundering pieces. Two of the census of 13 thefts were over $ 100,000 for sums – one of the victims lost over $ 610,000, according to the initial complaint – eight are for amounts between $ 10,000 and $ 100,000, two for sums of $ 5,000 to $ 10,000 and one for a sum of $ 2,500 and $ 5,000. One of the number of money laundering was over $ 100,000 and the other for a sum of between $ 10,000 and $ 100,000.
The money was used by Pautsch for personal expenses and buy the small brown jug and cover the cost of the tavern.
SOntact Christopher Clough on 920-562-8900 or cClough@gannett.com.
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This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Door County Man Pautsch receives a 15-year sentence for customer fraud