COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.—A former Colorado woman accused of pocketing nearly $200,000 in government support for her adoptive sons without reporting the boys’ disappearance years earlier pleaded guilty Thursday to charges including theft.
Former Monument-area resident Linda K. Bryant pleaded guilty to four counts of theft, two counts of conspiracy to commit theft, and 48 counts of attempting to influence a public servant, The Gazette reported (). She faces between four and 648 years in prison at a sentencing hearing scheduled for March 30.
Her estranged husband, Edward Bryant, is scheduled to go to trial in April on similar charges.
Prosecutors alleged Linda and Edward Bryant’s adoptive sons, Edward Dylan Bryant and Austin Eugene Bryant, had disappeared by 2003, when Austin would have been 7 and Edward 11, but the couple continued receiving welfare for the boys’ support, even after moving to Texas around 2005.
An investigation into the boys’ disappearance started a year ago after former foster children of Linda Bryant’s daughter approached authorities and said they had uncovered contradictions in what they were told about why the boys were no longer with the Bryants.
Linda and Edward Bryant told investigators the boys had run away but gave conflicting answers as to when.
The boys’ whereabouts are still unknown. No criminal charges have been filed in connection with how the boys disappeared.
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Information from: The Gazette,
