Columbia City Man Sentenced for Bilking Elderly

A former financial planner from Columbia City got 12 years in prison yesterday for stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from a number of elderly northern Indiana residents. Last month, a Whitley Superior Court jury convicted 57-year-old Larry Walkup of six felony counts of theft. According to court records and testimony, Walkup was heavily in debt when he kept money his former clients gave him for investments. His victims include an 83-year-old legally blind woman who lost $37-thousand dollars and the ability to sell her home. Walkup faces similar charges in Huntington County.