State v. Stuward, 2017 Ohio 2918

Victim Veda Kidd (74) was contacted via Facebook Messenger by someone posing as “General Patten,” who claimed he would send her $800,000 and asked for personal info.
In January 2016, defendant Patricia Stuward (using the alias “Fatima”) told Kidd she represented the agent delivering two packages and demanded $16,000 to clear them; Kidd cashed annuities and paid.
On January 8, 2016 Stuward and an associate collected $16,000 and returned with a “safe” of blank paper requiring a chemical solution; they then demanded additional funds ($45,000, later $53,000) to complete the scheme.
Kidd became suspicious, contacted police, and cooperated in a controlled plan; Stuward and her associate were arrested at Kidd’s home on January 22, 2016 when they came to pick up promised funds.
A Seneca County grand jury indicted Stuward on three third-degree felonies: theft from an elderly person, attempted theft from an elderly person, and telecommunications fraud; a jury convicted on all counts.
The trial court sentenced Stuward to 18 months on each count to run consecutively (total 54 months). On appeal Stuward argued the telecommunications fraud conviction should merge with the theft and attempted theft counts as allied offenses.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether telecommunications fraud merges with theft and attempted theft as allied offenses under R.C. 2941.25/Ruff	State argued conduct supported separate convictions because the communications were part of a larger scheme and distinct in timing and purpose	Stuward argued the phone communications were inseparable from the thefts and thus allied offenses of similar import that must merge	Court held telecommunications fraud did not merge: telephone use was separate conduct supporting distinct convictions (Ruff factor 2 satisfied)

State v. Ruff, 143 Ohio St.3d 114 (2015) (establishes three-part Ruff test for allied offenses of similar import)
State v. Potts, 69 N.E.3d 1227 (2016) (appellate court reviews allied-offense merger determinations de novo)