Exterminator steals $1.2 million to fund $1,000-a-day lottery habit

You should truly know who you put in charge of your money, which a Tennessee woman is learning the hard way after her exterminator ended up stealing over $1 million from her during a two-year period.

From exterminator to 'personal assistant'

Karl Hampton was working as an exterminator at the home of the victim in Tennessee. Hampton ended up convincing the octogenarian widow, who happened to have dementia that he had her best interests at heart.

Over time, Hampton started introducing himself as her “personal assistant,” and he even listed himself as her “son” on her personal records. He did all of this while stealing $1.2 million from the woman, according to the criminal complaint obtained by People.

The woman, who was only identified by her initials B.W. in court documents, didn't have any children.

The scheme

Hampton's scheme took place between 2018 and 2020, and it involved him convincing the elderly woman “that he would care for her personally and financially,” according to prosecutors.

He successfully got B.W. to sign over her power of attorney and name him in her will in April 2019. He was also named her Revocable Living Trust, per the court documents.

In May 2019, he quit his job.

Now that Hampton had access to her accounts, officials said he “methodically drained” the woman's bank accounts “to fund his lavish lifestyle.” Hampton stole over $1 million from the woman, which he was able to do using bank transfers, checks written to himself, cashier's checks, cash withdrawals, and credit card charges.

Court records state he also was in control of a bank account named “Falcon Company,” which he transferred much of the funds.

Hampton also “took out a $500,000 line of credit in her name using her securities as collateral, and amassed huge charges on her credit cards for his own personal expenses.”

Those charges included Hampton regularly spending between $1,000 and $1,500 in cash on lottery tickets every day! In addition, he also bought a luxury Lexus GX460 SUV in his wife's name, a 4.3-karat diamond ring he bought with his wife, and $170,000 interest in a pest control business.

The sentencing

Now that he has been caught, the lottery ticket purchases have stopped, especially since he will be spending years behind bars. Hampton, now 65, was sentenced to 60 months in prison on a 12 felony count conviction on multiple counts of conspiracy and money laundering. He also had eight counts of wire fraud, the Middle District of Tennessee's U.S. Attorney's Office said in a press release.

He was also ordered to pay back more than $1.2 million in restitution.

In addition to Hampton being convicted and sentenced, his wife, Deborah Hampton, was also indicted in June 2021 for the scheme. She pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering and was sentenced to time served in addition to three years of supervised release. She was also ordered to pay $21,000 in restitution.

Karl Hampton is currently on release and is scheduled to report back on December 6 to serve his sentence in federal prison.

Enjoy playing the Tennessee Lottery, and please remember to play responsibly.