Post by Logan on Feb 19, 2016 0:16:15 GMT -6
Jersey City man accused of stealing $225K from his elderly mother
TRENTON — Authorities say a Jersey City man impersonated his own mother as part of a scheme to get his hands on the 85-year-old's life savings, acting Attorney General John Hoffman and the Office of the Insurance Prosecutor said in a joint statement Thursday.
Angel Fontaina, 45 who lives with the woman, has been charged with theft by deception , identity theft , and passing bad checks as well as forgery. He faces up to 18 months in prison on the forgery charge and between five and ten years each on the remaining charges in addition to fines of up to $150,000.
Authorities say Fontaina made 10 withdrawals from two annuity accounts the victim had with the New York Life Insurance Company between June and October 2014. Fontaina allegedly began with a $35,000 withdrawal using a fraudulent form submitted to the New York Life office, then made the remaining withdrawals by phone by pretending to be his own mother. More than $225,000 ended up in Fontaina's bank account, authorities said.
The state launched the investigation after being contacted by New York Life, who discovered the withdrawals were made without the victim's knowledge, authorities also said.
Read more: www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2016/02/jersey_city_man_accused_of_stealing_225k_from_his.html
TRENTON — Authorities say a Jersey City man impersonated his own mother as part of a scheme to get his hands on the 85-year-old's life savings, acting Attorney General John Hoffman and the Office of the Insurance Prosecutor said in a joint statement Thursday.
Angel Fontaina, 45 who lives with the woman, has been charged with theft by deception , identity theft , and passing bad checks as well as forgery. He faces up to 18 months in prison on the forgery charge and between five and ten years each on the remaining charges in addition to fines of up to $150,000.
Authorities say Fontaina made 10 withdrawals from two annuity accounts the victim had with the New York Life Insurance Company between June and October 2014. Fontaina allegedly began with a $35,000 withdrawal using a fraudulent form submitted to the New York Life office, then made the remaining withdrawals by phone by pretending to be his own mother. More than $225,000 ended up in Fontaina's bank account, authorities said.
The state launched the investigation after being contacted by New York Life, who discovered the withdrawals were made without the victim's knowledge, authorities also said.
Read more: www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2016/02/jersey_city_man_accused_of_stealing_225k_from_his.html