Zeb Patten long operated a golf center in East Brainard.A Hamilton County Grand Jury indicted a Chattanooga business owner for allegedly bilking his ailing sister out of more than $650,000.
An 18-count indictment accuses George Zeboim "Zeb" Patten Jr., 45, of misappropriating funds that belonged to his half sister, Terry Alice Patten, who suffers from dementia.
The indictment alleges some or all of the money Patten diverted from his half-sister's accounts was used to prop up the Chattanooga Golf Center that he operates, as well as his own personal finances. The golf center is located on Mackey Avenue.
Patten was given his half-sister's power of attorney and was supposed to pay her expenses, but he was never supposed to take more than $5,000 or 5 percent of her assets in a year's time for his services, according to the indictment.
The indictment alleges he withdrew from various banking counts more than a dozen times from 2007 to 2008 and then deposited the money into his own personal or business accounts.
For complete details, see tomorrow's Chattanooga Times Free Press.