Trusted Chicago judge takes Tuskegee Airman's cash, then flips it into bitcoin for herself

Patricia Martin, a lawyer turned judge who spent 24 years on the bench, rising to become the top judge in Cook County's Juvenile Court, seemed to have the credentials to be trusted handling the finances of Oscar Lawton Wilkerson as he reached his mid-90s.

She had been related to the former Tuskegee Airman and agreed to help. Instead of helping Wilkerson, court records show Martin instead helped herself to his cash, moving money from his accounts and buying bitcoin.

Eric Puryear has known Wilkerson his entire life, as his grandfather was Wilkerson's best friend. They trusted Martin to manage the money, considering her an adopted family member.

"Every box for trustworthiness seemed to be checked there, and so she seemed to be the perfect person," said Puryear. "She seemed like the perfect person on paper. In hindsight, she was not."

The first sign of trouble came in August 2020, when the nursing home where Wilkerson was living called to say they had not been paid in months, and $41,000 was owed immediately. Puryear started looking into what happened with Wilkerson's finances.

"Account balances weren't right, checks were being dishonored," said Puryear. "Serious financial problem."

This didn't make sense to Puryear. Wilkerson had saved plenty and now was facing a new battle after all he sacrificed.

"He's a Tuskegee Airmen, World War II veteran, just an all-around wonderful person," said Puryear. "Dealing with segregation, dealing with all of that while still also flying, it is amazing."

Wilkerson made history as one of America's first Black military pilots. Tuskegee Airmen took frontline risks and then took heat as boundary breakers that many didn't like. After the military, Wilkerson flew for fun and became a Chicago-based radio technician. He married, never had kids, and saved for his golden years.

"It was clear Lawton should have had hundreds of thousands of dollars, certainly enough to take care of him for the rest of his life, because he'd worked so hard and saved so hard," said Puryear.

Puryear reached out to Martin about the missing funds, but wasn't getting an answer from her.

"She attempted to dodge and evade, like apparently she'd been doing for some number of months at that point, and she didn't seem to have the time to return a phone call over such an important thing," said Puryear. "You'd think, if she was innocent, that would have caused her to want to communicate right away, but she didn't."

It was a critical time for Wilkerson since, without paying what he owed the nursing home, he was told he was going to have to move out of the place he called home if things weren't settled.

"She stole the money, we can see from some of the documents we've gotten," said Puryear. "All of her actions, they shock the conscience."

Court documents show 11 withdrawals over 18 months, with Martin shutting down accounts and pocketing more than $245,000, moving most of her new wealth into hard-to-track bitcoin. She was arrested and faced various charges, including money laundering and financial exploitation of an elderly person. She pleaded guilty to one felony theft count and was sentenced to four years of probation.

"Probation and a felony conviction for that sort of theft from that sort of a victim just is not quite enough," said Puryear. "It's hard to think of something more evil for her to have done, but she did."

Puryear, an attorney, filed a lawsuit on Wilkerson's behalf to get his money back, accusing Martin of stealing more than $380,000. During that case, Martin repeatedly failed to show up for court hearings. The judge ordered her to halt all transactions, but court documents show she ignored that, too, and moved more money. In the end, the judge ordered Martin to pay up nearly $1.2 million in damages – triple the amount she stole.

"It makes me wonder what is wrong in Patricia's heart that she would do that to somebody," said Puryear.

Martin appealed the lawsuit judgment and had it overturned, in part because Wilkerson died. Wilkerson's loved ones are planning to file another lawsuit, continuing their fight to get back the money Martin took.

She lost her law license because of all this, admitting: "… the evidence would clearly and convincingly establish the facts and conclusions of misconduct."

Wilkerson's care never suffered due to Martin's theft, but for a man whose legacy is etched in history, the moves of Martin are etched in the minds of those who loved him most.

"Lawton was such a fine man; one of the finest people I have ever met in my life," said Puryear. "And Patricia Martin is one of the absolute worst humans, and to see that contrast between them is breathtaking."

Martin declined to speak with CBS News Chicago for this story. The former judge continues to draw her government pension.