Leelanau County prosecutor Joseph Hubbell believes the plea deal he reached in the case of a Leland businessman who diverted funds from an elderly lady will help the victim live out her life in a comfortable manner.

John Sisson on Friday pleaded guilty to a one-year misdemeanor, embezzlement from a vulnerable adult. He was immediately remanded to jail without bond.

As part of the deal, Sisson agreed to pay 88-year-old Berta Ann Steinkamp $50,000 in restitution. Had the case gone to trial, restitution payments could have been paid over five years, said Hubbell.

Also considered was a 5-year felony charge of embezzlement from a vulnerable adult of $1,000 to $20,000, Hubbell said. While the Prosecutor’s office could verify $11,200 in funds diverted from Steinkamp — and show that Steinkamp was virtually broke after Sisson gained control of her financial affairs — proving intent might have been difficult. The diverted funds were used for a variety of purposes, from paying a subscription to the Limbaugh Letter to buying equipment for Sisson’s business.

The plea forced Sisson to admit he intended to take the funds, which was important to prosecutors.

"If we went to trial there was the argument that he accidently wrote these checks from the wrong account," said deputy prosecuting attorney Doug Donaldson, who was the lead prosecutor in the case.

The victim’s recollection could have also been questioned, he added. Steinkamp in some conversations told prosecutors, “He would pay me back if he could, if he didn’t I don’t need the money,” said Donaldson.

Prosecutors have do doubt as to Sisson’s intent.

“This is not a case where we haphazardly came up with these charges. This is a case where he embezzled money from a vulnerable adult,” said Hubbell.