Former Pacers player says Zionsville councilor exploited his elderly grandmother

A former Indiana Pacers player has accused a Zionsville town councilor of removing his grandmother from an assisted living facility and manipulating her into selling her property shortly before her death last month.

Josh McRoberts and his mother, Jennifer, filed their lawsuit in Boone County on June 1. They say Zionsville Town Council member Sarah Sampson and her husband, Jon Sampson, worked with a local lawyer to remove the plaintiffs from the will of Carolyn Pennington – Josh McRoberts’s 84-year-old grandmother and Jennifer’s mother.

The lawsuit accuses the Sampsons of criminal and civil conversion by taking ownership of Pennington’s property to damage her estate and alleges the Sampsons committed elder abuse under Indiana’s Senior Consumer Protection Act. The family has asked the court to declare that they are the true owners of Pennington’s property, and that the Sampsons have “no interest” in her land and trust.

“The Sampsons vehemently deny the allegations in the lawsuit and will be releasing a statement at an appropriate time,” said Nicholas Plopper, a partner at Carmel-based Drewry Simmons Vornehm LLP, who is representing the couple, in a written statement to The Indiana Lawyer on Tuesday.

The family also accuses the attorney who drafted Pennington’s most recent will changes, Michael Einterz, of Zionsville-based Einterz & Einterz, of committing attorney malpractice by serving the Sampsons’ best interests rather than those of Carolyn Pennington.

In a lengthy press statement provided to The Lawyer, Einterz & Einterz said it “strongly disputes” the allegations against the firm and intends to defend itself through the legal process.

“The complaint presents one side of a disputed matter,” Einterz & Einterz said. “Allegations are not findings of fact, and they should not be treated as such. Einterz & Einterz stands by its commitment to professional responsibility, client service, and ethical legal practice.”

According to the complaint, the Sampsons were neighbors of Pennington. For years, the Sampsons allegedly “hounded” Pennington to sell them property in the 6800 block of South Ford Road, which had been in the family for 150 years, but she “adamantly refused.”

“[Pennington] and the Sampsons have never been friendly,” the complaint stated.

In 2016, Pennington faced financial problems and decided to mortgage the property.

According to Einterz & Einterz, citing information presented to the court at a Monday hearing, Pennington was on a fixed income and living in a home owned by her trust. The Boone County Assessor had valued the home at $594,000, the firm said.

The home also had suffered $100,000 in damages and needed repairs.

By 2025, Pennington asked her grandson, who played for the Pacers from 2008 to 2011, to pay off the mortgage and make repairs so the property could stay in the family, according to the complaint.

McRoberts agreed and paid about $1 million to fix up the property, according to the lawsuit.

In October 2025, Pennington was moved to Rose Senior Living, an assisted living facility in Carmel, because she could no longer care for herself, her home or her dogs, and her mental and physical health had declined, the complaint states. After moving into the facility, medical providers examined Pennington and indicated that she had dementia.

After Pennington moved into the facility, Jennifer, her daughter, visited her consistently, according to the lawsuit.

McRoberts ceased contact with Pennington in November 2025, according to Einterz & Einterz.

According to the lawsuit, from April 6 to April 11, Jennifer went on a planned vacation. By the time she returned, Sampson had allegedly removed Pennington from Rose Senior Living and taken her to an undisclosed location.

The lawsuit accuses Sampson of telling the facility that Pennington was staying with her and also telling police that Pennington had 24/7 medical care, all of which the McRobertses say was false.

“Instead, Sarah [Sampson] isolated Carolyn [Pennington] at a separate home Sarah [Sampson] owned where there were no caregivers and no monitoring,” the complaint states.

According to the complaint, from April 10 until Pennington’s death on May 6, Sampson prevented Pennington from meeting with or speaking with any of her family members.

Before she died, Pennington was taken to the emergency department of Witham Health Services on April 29, according to the lawsuit. Witham then transferred her to St. Vincent Hospital.

On April 30, the suit says, Sampson told St. Vincent medical providers that Pennington “has no family support but has 4 neighbors that are friends who help with her care.” The McRobertses say that was not true.

Pennington was diagnosed with a liver disease and a rectal mass, which was likely cancer.

Citing medical records, the complaint states that medical providers called Pennington by name and directed questions specifically to her, but Sampson still spoke for her.

On the same day, the lawsuit asserts that Michael Einterz drafted a deed conveying Pennington’s homestead property – 7 acres on Ford Road that McRoberts had paid to preserve – to the Sampsons for $750,000, a price the McRobertses say was far below its fair market value.

According to Einterz & Einterz, Pennington first asked McRoberts in April if he wanted to buy some or all of the trust property, but he declined. So Pennington asked Sampson if she was interested.

According to Einterz & Einterz, Sampson had already purchased property from Pennington’s trust two years earlier.

Pennington and Sampson then negotiated a purchase agreement in April that allowed Pennington to reside in her home forever, while Sampson paid for the needed repairs and purchase of the house, the firm said.

About a week later, she died.

According to the lawsuit, Sampson arranged for the embalming of Pennington’s body before informing the family of her death, which “compromised the possibility of an autopsy to determine the cause of death.”

Sampson’s “potential responsibility for causing the death of Carolyn might never be known,” the lawsuit states.

Einterz & Einterz said Pennington died from complications of her diagnosed illness, with Sampson at her side.

The firm also said Pennington instructed medical providers not to contact her family. The press statement does not say why.

The McRobertses say the Sampsons took ownership of Pennington’s property to “permanently deprive Carolyn [Pennington] and her Estate and her heirs of its value and use.”

The McRobertses filed a motion for a preliminary injunction, asking the court to hand Pennington’s property to the McRoberts until the litigation is resolved.

The McRobertses assert in their lawsuit that the most recent will signed by Pennington, giving the Sampsons the Ford Road property, is invalid because Pennington was not of sound mind to sign any legal documents.

Einterz & Einterz contested the McRoberts’ determination, saying on Tuesday that Pennington’s treating physician, caregivers and professionals believed her to be of sound mind.

The McRobertses say in their lawsuit that the defendants relied on previous trust documents, dating back to 2002 and amended in 2017, to support changing Pennington’s will. The family points to a June 18, 2025, Complete Restatement of the Trust that Pennington signed, which they argue “superseded and replaced all prior documents.”

“This speaks volumes to Carolyn [Pennington]’s lack of awareness and capacity to address any changes to her legal documents and the Defendants’ undue influence and ignorance of the situation,” the lawsuit stated.

The McRobertses say this litigation would be unnecessary had Einterz “acted as a prudent and responsible attorney.”

“Whether or not of sound mind, a prudent attorney would have contacted her [Pennington’s] physician, or recommended Carolyn [Pennington] undergo a mental examination before signing anything in April or May of 2026, much less while in the hospital less than a week before she died.

After Pennington died, the McRobertses allege that Einterz and his firm tried to remove McRoberts as personal representative of Pennington’s estate while filing an appearance for Sampson as the trustee of Pennington’s trust.

“In other words, Defendants Michael Einterz and the law firm of Einterz & Einterz purported to act in Carolyn [Pennington]’s interests while she was alive; but after her passing now purport to act in Sarah Sampson’s interests,” the complaint stated.

On June 3, Einterz requested that Boone Superior Court Judge Matthew Kincaid stay the litigation until a similar but separate matter regarding Pennington’s will is resolved. Kincaid denied the motion for a stay on Tuesday.

In the adjacent matter, on June 2, Kincaid denied a motion to remove McRoberts as Pennington’s personal representative.

In the McRoberts case against the Sampsons and Einterz, an injunction hearing was scheduled for Monday. The court has not released an order accepting or denying an injunction as of publication.

The case is Josh McRoberts and Jennifer McRoberts v. Jon Sampson, Sarah Sampson, Michael L. Einterz, Erin B. Napier, and Einterz & Einterz, 06D01-2606-PL-001109.