Sharpsburg woman accused of stealing over $300K from partner’s estate

A Sharpsburg woman is facing charges after the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office alleges she stole over $300,000 from the estate of her deceased domestic partner.

Mary Ann Walters, 66, was charged with theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property and two counts of forgery. The total of allegedly stolen funds is $330,248.60.

According to a criminal complaint, Walters allegedly forged documents and witness signatures in 2023 to name herself as power of attorney and sole beneficiary of her partner Mark Ivanusic’s estate. A month after Ivanusic died in 2024, Walters opened an estate and took control of nearly $1 million. Ivanusic’s only child, Carolyn, contested the paperwork in Orphans Court, where a judge nullified the documents as forgeries because Walters failed to provide proper documentation.

“We have yet another example of financial exploitation of a senior in a vulnerable situation,” District Attorney Stephen Zappala said. “Theft of this magnitude has devastating consequences not only on the victim, but on the families who are robbed of properly grieving their loved one. These intolerable crimes against our seniors need to be stopped and we will persist in prosecuting to the full extent of the law.”

DA investigators traced the estate funds through various bank accounts and found them deposited into Citizens Bank accounts under Walters’ name. Financial records showed thousands of dollars spent on ATM withdrawals, lottery purchases, and at car dealerships, restaurants, grocery stores or other personal expenses.

The DA notes that Walters previously served jail time after a 2019 conviction for forging Ivanusic’s signature on several checks.

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