A Butler man was given a prison sentence and ordered to pay $200,000 in restitution to his grandparents for stealing from their retirement and bank accounts.

Erik Stephen Cupps, 34, was sentenced Thursday, March 30, in Butler County Common Pleas Court to serve nine to 23 months in the county prison followed by 155 months of probation and ordered to pay $200,000 in restitution to his grandparents.

Cupps pleaded guilty to felony charges of theft by deception and access device fraud and a misdemeanor charge of tampering with records that state police filed in August 2021.

Judge Kelley Streib ordered the sentence after David Stevenson gave a victim impact statement on behalf of his parents, William and Charlene Stevenson, who, he said, took Cupps in, tried to get him a job and loved him.

“He brought joy to my mom and dad. They took him in,” Stevenson said.

They did so after Cupps got into trouble in high school, he said. Cupps eventually left, but then he called them in 2017, asking them to help him find a job, Stevenson said.

He said his father wasn’t able to find Cupps a job, but he got Cupps enrolled in a school to learn welding. Cupps cut his parents’ lawn and took care of their rental property, Stevenson said.

Cupps and his girlfriend had a baby together, and his grandparents were happy to have a great-grandchild, Stevenson said.

“They loved him,” Stevenson said.

Then in May 2021, Stevenson said his parents learned Cupps had been stealing from them, and police discovered that a lot of money was missing from their accounts.

“They’re heart broken,” he said. His father is now in a nursing home and his mother is worried about the future because of money issues, he said.

In addition to the restitution, Stevenson said his parents want Cupps to get help.

Cupps, who was sentenced via video from the county prison, did not speak Thursday.