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Lombard woman who bilked veterans charity: 'I really have learned my lesson'

A Lombard woman who used charity money for her personal expenses was resentenced Friday to 180 days in jail and one year of conditional discharge.

But Priscilla Olshefski is being released immediately, because she received credit for 205 days she's spent in jail, from when she was first arrested and for the time she was detained for violating probation.

Olshefski, 61, had received 170 days of jail time and two years' probation in July when she pleaded guilty to felony misuse of charitable trust funds. Prosecutors allege she and her husband, Todd Olshefski, collected money for a charity they ran called Veterans Christian Network Inc. but spent at least $10,000 on themselves.

Olshefski failed to attend required appointments with probation officials. She was found in Florida in November, along with her husband, Todd Olshefski, who was out on bail while awaiting his trial. The duo were extradited in January.

Prosecutor Katherine Klosowski asked for Olshefski to be sentenced to three years in prison.

Public defender Garrett Ard said the Olshefskis had been homeless or living in hotels when they ran Veterans Christian Network Inc. and that some of the money was indeed given to veterans.

Olshefski started crying in court. "I'm very sorry for what I have done as far as breaking probation," she told DuPage County Judge George Bakalis. "I really have learned my lesson."

Bakalis noted that Olshefski has bipolar disorder, is homeless and does not have a job.

Olshefski will have to notify the court clerk within seven days of any change in address. She cannot consume any illicit drugs, possess any firearms or break any laws during her discharge, and she will have to report back to a judge in one year.

Besides the criminal case, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul sued the couple in March 2019. That suit sought to stop them from operating the charity, which they had not registered with the state, and to get them to repay the money.

In a Daily Herald interview about that suit, the Olshefskis disputed the allegation. "That $10,000 that is so-called misappropriated, that is me and my wife's money that we loaned to the organization and that was put toward opening up the office, buying furniture, wall panels and things for the office," Todd Olshefski said. "If the attorney general is saying we misappropriated, I'm sorry. That's a flat-out lie. I can do what I want with my money."

The Olshefskis failed to attend several court dates, and the judge entered a judgment against them, ordering them to pay $28,337.

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