Elgin woman gets probation in real estate scheme

A 57-year-old Elgin woman convicted of filing forged documents in an attempt to inherit real estate from her late mother was sentenced Wednesday to two years of probation.

Nanette Fink, of 1211 Carr St., also was ordered to return the real estate within 60 days to its rightful owners - her relatives - and to pay court fines and costs.

Fink broke down in tears during the sentencing hearing in front of Kane County Circuit Judge Allen M. Anderson, to whom she insisted she was innocent.

"All I did was what my mother asked me to do," she told the judge. "I am not guilty."

Prosecutors had accused Fink of knowingly filing forged documents to transfer real estate to herself instead of the nephews her late mother left it to, according to the state's attorney's office.

On Wednesday, Fink said there were five witnesses willing to testify they had overheard her mother's wishes for Fink to file the documents but that they weren't allowed to take the stand because hearsay is inadmissible in court under most circumstances.

Prosecutors asked that Fink be sentenced to 180 days in the county jail but the judge cited her lack of a criminal history in Kane County and other factors in putting her on probation.