Taney County Prosecuting Attorney Jeff Merrell announced today that KENT L. TANGEMAN, d/o/b: 1/07/1958, of Branson, Missouri, entered a guilty plea – pursuant to a plea agreement – to the class A felony of financial exploitation of the elderly. Pursuant to his plea agreement negotiated with the Taney County Prosecutor’s Office, Tangeman was sentenced to twenty (20) years in prison by Taney County Circuit Court Judge Mark Orr. Tangeman also pled guilty to the class D felony of property damage in the first degree, for which he received a four (4) year prison sentence.

In February of 2013, Detective Dan Luttrell of the Taney County Sheriff’s Office, received documents that showed Tangeman had depleted his mother’s bank account of over $75,000.00 over the course of a couple of years. The documents led Detective Luttrell to find other evidence demonstrating how Tangeman had taken his mother’s money, as well as opened credit card accounts in her name. The total financial gain to Tangeman is believed to have exceeded $100,000.00. The financial exploitation investigation was prompted by the investigation into Tangeman’s property damage charge.

In late December of 2011, Tangeman kicked his mother out of her condominium unit in Branson. After waiting in the cold for some time, Tangeman’s mother was picked-up by family members. When officers went to the residence later to serve an ex parte order of protection on Tangeman, it was discovered that Tangeman had cut himself and had bled on much of the condominium’s interior. In addition, it was discovered that almost every item of personal property within the condominium had been intentionally broken. Nearly all of that damaged property was owned by Tangeman’s mother.

Tangeman’s financial exploitation case had been scheduled for jury trial on January 13, 2014. His sentences are to run concurrently with one another.