A New York man who served as caretaker for his elderly neighbor has admitted to stealing nearly $142,000 in pension payments that kept flowing after the neighbor died.

Danilo Pesce, 60, of Pelham pleaded guilty to fourth-degree grand larceny in Albany County Court, New York Attorney General Letitia James says.

The neighbor, Jack Lee Morgan, was a retired Pelham school district teacher who collected a pension from the New York State Teachers’ Retirement System.

Morgan died in 2020 with no living beneficiary, so the payments should have stopped.

But nobody told the retirement system about the death, and it kept sending $3,497 a month into Morgan’s bank account.

While working as Morgan’s caretaker, Pesce had been added to the bank account and to the deed of Morgan’s Pelham home.

Starting on March 17th, 2020, less than a month after Morgan died, Pesce regularly pulled money out of the account, the attorney general’s office says.

He used the cash on upkeep and renovations at Morgan’s home, where he and his wife were living part-time.

In total, Pesce took $141,968.

He has paid $147,000 back to the retirement system, which includes $6,000 in interest.

Says James,

“Danilo Pesce took advantage of the retirement system that thousands of hard-working New York teachers rely on… This heartless theft should serve as a reminder that my office will not tolerate anyone who breaks the law to steal from their neighbors.”

Pesce was arrested on July 30th of this year.

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The post New York Man Steals $141,968 in Pension Payments Meant for Deceased Elderly Neighbor for Over Three Years appeared first on The Daily Hodl.

A former Indiana letter carrier has been sentenced to six and a half years in federal prison for stealing checks from the mail in a $34 million bank fraud scheme that hit about 6,500 victims.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana says Destinee Ruffin, 29, of Indianapolis also got two years of supervised release after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and theft of mail.

Ruffin worked at the Bacon Station Post Office in Indianapolis, where she took checks from incoming and outgoing mail between April of 2020 and May of 2022 and sold them to co-conspirators.

The buyers changed the payee names and ran the checks through the bank accounts of people who handed over debit cards, PINs or online banking logins.

Ruffin supplied John Young, 24, with more than $12 million in stolen checks and sold Tony McMullen, 36, more than $235,000 worth.

The case began in the spring of 2020 when a Bacon Station customer complained that an Economic Impact Payment check never arrived, and more complaints led agents to Ruffin’s route.

Investigators later mailed controlled Treasury checks with recorded serial numbers and traced them back to her.

A search of her home, vehicle and devices in April of 2024 turned up thousands of unsold stolen checks worth more than $20 million, with stolen mail piled in closets, in corners and even in the bathroom.

One victim found out her $1,618 payment to keep her retired husband’s health insurance never arrived when she showed up for surgery and was told her coverage had been terminated, forcing the procedure to be canceled.

Says U.S. Attorney Tom Wheeler,

“Destinee Ruffin’s crimes were not isolated acts of theft; they represented a sweeping scheme that touched thousands of households and eroded a fundamental public trust. By stealing millions of dollars’ worth of checks from the mail, Ruffin and her co-conspirators disrupted critical benefits, jeopardized family finances, and caused real harm to individuals who depended on timely delivery for essential needs.”

Ruffin was also ordered to pay $121,270.30 in restitution.

Three of her co-conspirators have already been sentenced, and Young is set to be sentenced on December 3rd.

The Daily Hodl reported on Ruffin’s guilty plea in October.

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The post USPS Insider Who Stole Checks in $34,000,000 Fraud Scheme Hitting About 6,500 Victims Gets Six and a Half Years in Prison appeared first on The Daily Hodl.

Federal prosecutors have secured a guilty plea from a Washington resident accused of running a years-long romance scam that drained over $333,000 from a Portland victim.

Rithy Ham, 45, of Vancouver, Washington, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering, says the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon.

The scheme ran from September 2020 through May 2024 and relied on invented identities of two women who supposedly needed cash for daily bills, nursing school costs and escape from sex trafficking.

“Believing the women were real and in danger, the victim sent money on multiple occasions.”

The victim sent repeated payments after receiving messages from both Ham and the fabricated profiles.

One transfer of $36,872.35 occurred in November 2022, and another $20,922 came from a retirement account in March 2023.

Ham and his wife controlled the accounts that received the funds, and part of the proceeds paid for an $18,500 check to his wife.

“In total, Ham stole $333,249.52 from the victim, much of it from the victim’s retirement savings.”

Under the plea deal, Ham must repay the full amount and faces up to 20 years in prison on the wire fraud charge and up to 10 years on the money laundering count.

The FBI conducted the investigation.

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A New Jersey man has been sentenced to more than two years in federal prison after using forged U.S. passport cards to withdraw money from victims’ bank accounts in Florida and South Carolina.

Michael Scott Hillwig, 59, of Camden, New Jersey, was sentenced April 7th in the Northern District of Florida for bank fraud, aggravated identity theft, and false use or forgery of a passport, says the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

In May 2023, he unlawfully obtained victims’ names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers and passport card numbers, then created fraudulent U.S. passport cards with his photograph and the victims’ identifying information.

He traveled to financial institutions in South Carolina and Florida locations including Bonifay, Niceville and Winter Garden, presenting victims’ Social Security numbers and the fake passport cards to make withdrawals.

Says U.S. Attorney John P. Heekin,

“It is of vital importance to raise awareness about the vulnerability of our personal identifying information online, which fraudsters relentlessly pursue as they seek to enrich themselves by exploiting their victims. As this defendant has learned, my office is just as relentless in our pursuit of criminals like him, and we aggressively prosecute such frauds to the fullest extent to achieve justice for the victims of these crimes.”

Hillwig will serve more than two years in prison followed by three years of supervised release and must pay restitution to victims.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service, Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office and Holmes County Sheriff’s Office.

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A New Jersey woman and her Colombian husband have been convicted of running a fake transit company that sought more than $13 million in federal funds meant for elderly, disabled and homeless Americans.

A federal jury in Utica, New York, found Jael Watts, 45, of Alloway, and Luis Pino-Copete, 42, of Bogota, Colombia, guilty in the scheme, says the U.S. Department of Justice.

Prosecutors say the pair operated Pearl Transit Corporation, a New Jersey shell company that claimed to employ drivers nationwide for medical rides and homeless outreach while delivering no real services.

Between July 2019 and October 2025, they sought more than $13 million through false claims and took in more than $1.6 million from agencies in Georgia, California and North Carolina, according to the DOJ.

Trial evidence showed they built fake payrolls and client lists with stolen identities, including people who were already dead, and listed “drivers” who lacked licenses or had never driven a car.

Says Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the DOJ’s National Fraud Enforcement Division,

“The defendants fabricated payrolls and client lists, even using the identities of deceased individuals, to siphon millions meant for the most vulnerable Americans.”

Bank records showed more than $100,000 on Porsche rentals, more than $100,000 at luxury retailer Loro Piana in Manhattan and months of travel across Colombia, Aruba and Europe, the DOJ says.

Watts was convicted of false statement, aggravated identity theft and five counts of wire fraud, while both were also convicted of wire fraud conspiracy, false document and aggravated identity theft. At a January 21st, 2027 sentencing, each faces up to 20 years in prison, fines of up to $250,000 and at least $1.9 million in restitution, and Pino-Copete faces deportation after any prison term.

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Federal prosecutors have secured a guilty plea from a Boston man accused of using fake identification to drain hundreds of thousands of dollars from customer accounts.

William Shaw, 68, admitted to four counts of bank fraud and four counts of aggravated identity theft in federal court, says the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.

The defendant posed as at least 13 account holders from late 2022 into early 2025 by presenting forged driver’s licenses that carried the victims’ details alongside his own photograph.

He also submitted withdrawal forms listing the customers’ names and account numbers to obtain cashier’s checks and cash totaling more than $900,000.

Judge Julia E. Kobick set sentencing for January 6th, 2027, after Shaw was charged in January 2026.

Separately, authorities charged six additional men in July 2025 as part of a larger multi-state bank fraud investigation covering Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island.

Three of those defendants have already entered guilty pleas and await sentencing, while another received a sentence in a connected case.

A bank fraud conviction carries up to 30 years in prison along with fines reaching $1 million or twice the amount gained or lost.

Each aggravated identity theft count requires at least two years in prison served consecutively to any other term.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristen Kearney is handling the prosecution.

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Federal prosecutors say they’ve obtained a guilty plea from an Ohio resident who ran a fraudulent investment scheme that stole more than $3 million from victims across two states.

John E. Brown II, 45, of Brecksville, Ohio, pleaded guilty on September 29th, to 17 counts of wire fraud and two counts of engaging in monetary transactions in criminal proceeds, says the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio.

The scheme centered on nonexistent bundled tickets to sporting events and theme parks that Brown falsely portrayed as fluctuating in value like stocks and doubling through splits.

Victims wired funds after seeing fake documents and actors posing as successful investors, yet Brown moved roughly $1.375 million to casinos for personal gambling.

Three victims lived in Berea, Mayfield Heights and North Royalton, Ohio, while two others resided in Cape Coral and Orlando, Florida.

Each wire fraud count carries a maximum 20-year prison term, while each money laundering count allows up to 10 years, with sentencing scheduled for January 7th, 2027.

The FBI Cleveland Division conducted the investigation.

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The post Ohio Resident Admits to Orchestrating $3,000,000 Fake Ticket Investment Fraud Scheme appeared first on The Daily Hodl.