DA says woman stole life insurance payouts dad left for his little girl

A greedy East Village mom betrayed her 8-year-old daughter's trust, blowing most of a $186,000 inheritance the little girl got from her dead father on a luxury spending spree, prosecutors charged yesterday.

Stavon Simpson, 41, allegedly squandered $50,000 of her child's fortune on an Infiniti car for a boyfriend.

"She embezzled that money," said Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau. "She spent at least some of it on her boyfriend."

Simpson, who bragged to neighbors that she paid cash for the car, later traded it in for a Land Rover, which officials are now trying to seize, Morgenthau said.

He said Simpson spent her daughter's windfall on a $1,600 bedroom set and personal living expenses that included the $342 rent on her apartment and a $110 monthly cable bill. Neighbors said she also upgraded her wardrobe.

"She went on a spending spree," said Nicole Freeman, 38, Simpson's neighbor at the Robert F. Kennedy Apartments on E. 13th St. "She's all done up. She's got new clothes. She didn't look like that before."

Simpson's daughter Zhane was named sole beneficiary of her father Phillip Thomas' life insurance benefits after the Bellevue Hospital mailroom supervisor died of lung cancer in 2005.

"My uncle loved his daughter very, very much. He knew he was dying and he was hellbent on ensuring that she was well taken care of," said Thomas' niece Lori-Ann Lucas. "That's why the money was left to her, for her education."

Before Thomas died, he enrolled Zhane in private school. He and Simpson split when he caught her cheating with the man she eventually blew the money on, neighbors said.

Between August 2005 and April, Simpson deposited $186,256 in a bank account and withdrew $143,866, Morgenthau said. Simpson, who told authorities she works at a Jersey City mall, pleaded innocent to grand larceny and was freed on her own recognizance.

Lucas, who said Zhane would visit her family's Chicago suburb home in the summers, claims Simpson removed Zhane from private school when her father died.

Simpson still has custody of the daughter she allegedly stole from, but a court-appointed guardian has been put in charge of managing the girl's money.

Phillip Thomas' sister, Joanne Bennett of Chicago, is seeking to become executor of the estate.

Morgenthau said the embezzlement came to light when Simpson complained about not receiving one of Thomas' death benefit checks. When officials investigated, they uncovered the pilfering, the prosecutor said.

"She got careless," Morgenthau said.

Simpson could not be reached for comment. But her son James Simpson, 22, of Albany defended his mother. "It's crazy," he said. "She was a good, loving mother."

But her older daughter, Laticia Simpson, 18, said she was "appalled" by her mother's alleged behavior. "I had no idea this was going on," she said. "She put me out. I haven't been with my mother in three years."

A greedy East Village mom betrayed her 8-year-old daughter's trust, blowing most of a $186,000 inheritance the little girl got from her dead father on a luxury spending spree, prosecutors charged yesterday.

Stavon Simpson, 41, allegedly squandered $50,000 of her child's fortune on an Infiniti car for a boyfriend.

"She embezzled that money," said Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau. "She spent at least some of it on her boyfriend."

Simpson, who bragged to neighbors that she paid cash for the car, later traded it in for a Land Rover, which officials are now trying to seize, Morgenthau said.

He said Simpson spent her daughter's windfall on a $1,600 bedroom set and personal living expenses that included the $342 rent on her apartment and a $110 monthly cable bill. Neighbors said she also upgraded her wardrobe.

"She went on a spending spree," said Nicole Freeman, 38, Simpson's neighbor at the Robert F. Kennedy Apartments on E. 13th St. "She's all done up. She's got new clothes. She didn't look like that before."

Simpson's daughter Zhane was named sole beneficiary of her father Phillip Thomas' life insurance benefits after the Bellevue Hospital mailroom supervisor died of lung cancer in 2005.

"My uncle loved his daughter very, very much. He knew he was dying and he was hellbent on ensuring that she was well taken care of," said Thomas' niece Lori-Ann Lucas. "That's why the money was left to her, for her education."

Before Thomas died, he enrolled Zhane in private school. He and Simpson split when he caught her cheating with the man she eventually blew the money on, neighbors said.

Between August 2005 and April, Simpson deposited $186,256 in a bank account and withdrew $143,866, Morgenthau said. Simpson, who told authorities she works at a Jersey City mall, pleaded innocent to grand larceny and was freed on her own recognizance.

Lucas, who said Zhane would visit her family's Chicago suburb home in the summers, claims Simpson removed Zhane from private school when her father died.

Simpson still has custody of the daughter she allegedly stole from, but a court-appointed guardian has been put in charge of managing the girl's money.

Phillip Thomas' sister, Joanne Bennett of Chicago, is seeking to become executor of the estate.

Morgenthau said the embezzlement came to light when Simpson complained about not receiving one of Thomas' death benefit checks. When officials investigated, they uncovered the pilfering, the prosecutor said.

"She got careless," Morgenthau said.

Simpson could not be reached for comment. But her son James Simpson, 22, of Albany defended his mother. "It's crazy," he said. "She was a good, loving mother."

But her older daughter, Laticia Simpson, 18, said she was "appalled" by her mother's alleged behavior. "I had no idea this was going on," she said. "She put me out. I haven't been with my mother in three years."

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BY KERRY BURKE, BARBARA ROSS and BILL HUTCHINSON
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS

All contents © 2007 Daily News, L.P.