Former Cook County Judge Patricia Martin, 66, narrowly avoided prison on December 5, 2025, receiving four years’ probation after pleading guilty to felony theft of $100,000–$500,000. She stole nearly $250,000 from 95-year-old Tuskegee Airman Oscar Wilkerson Jr., a WWII hero and the last surviving Chicago-area member of the famous aviation unit, who died in 2023.
Abusing the power of attorney, Martin drained his accounts for cryptocurrency investments, leading to unpaid nursing home bills and a 2022 lawsuit. After sentencing, she must pay $122,764 in restitution, on top of already being disbarred and hit with a $1.2M civil judgment.
Breaking the story on social media, popular conservative libs of TikTok said, “NEW: Former Illinois Judge Patricia Martin avoids jail time, sentenced to probation, after stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from 95-year-old WWII veteran Oscar Wilkerson.”
Reacting to the news, one commentator under this post said, “Absolutely unbelievable. A 95-year-old WWII hero gets his life savings stolen, and the person who did it walks away with probation. If there was ever a case that demanded real accountability, this is it. Justice should protect our veterans…not excuse the people who exploit them.”
Adding more context, the Illinois Supreme Court Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission described the nature of the crime. “She intentionally used for her own purposes more than $240,000 she had agreed to hold for an elderly relative who was residing in a nursing home, made false statements to the physician who held her relative’s power of attorney about the balances in his bank and investment accounts, and did not produce documents in response to an ARDC subpoena,” the document read, “[she] used at least $246,203.80 of… funds without his authority for her own personal purposes.”
Reacting with disgust, Ken Rapier, friend of Oscar Wilkerson, quipped, “If you can’t trust a judge, who can you trust?” Additionally, he expressed the moral outrage felt by many members of the public, saying, “It really upsets me when somebody takes advantage of the Tuskegee Airmen.”
CBS 2 Legal Analyst Irv Miller noted that the impact of this decision was going to be massive. “It’s going to shake the entire Circuit Court of Cook County. She’s agreeing that the evidence against her clearly – and she uses the word ‘clearly’ – establishes that she committed misconduct in this particular case,” he said.
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However, Martin’s lawyer alleged, “The plaintiff’s death suspends the court’s jurisdiction.” Which the legal experts say may hold water in court. Miller explained, “They’re making a technical argument – frankly, it may have merit – that because the plaintiff died while this proceeding was pending, there is no proper plaintiff – and if there is no proper plaintiff, the lawsuit can’t proceed.”
Concluding his comments, Irv Miller said. “Even if you’re a former judge, you cannot thumb your nose at a court order – and that’s what the current judge hearing the case has indicated occurred in this case, and that’s why she was pretty upset about it.”
This has been a bad year for the judiciary as a whole, which has lost much of its legitimacy and credibility in the eyes of the public as it has pulled out all the stops to attack Trump and aid illegal aliens. One such judge was even arrested for illegally helping an illegal alien evade ICE. Watch more below