Florida man arrested for theft of NYS pension benefits

A Florida man has been arrested after authorities say he stole over $180,000 in New York state pension benefits.

Robert Schusteritsch, 71, was charged with grand larceny and criminal impersonation. Authorities say Schusteritsch stole over $180,000 in pension benefits issued to his deceased brother, Martin Petschauer, between July 2008 and September 2015.

According to court documents, Petschauer was a New York State pensioner who retired in 1986. When Petschauer died, authorities say Schusteritsch concealed his brother’s death from the bank and the Retirement System and kept the trust account open to maintain the direct deposits. Officials say he then routinely accessed the pension deposits and spent the money for his own benefit. The Retirement System discovered Petschauer’s death in October 2015.

The prosecution also says that when the Retirement System learned of Petschauer’s death and stopped paying benefits into the trust account, Schusteritsch called the customer help line. They say he pretended to be Petschauer and asserted that he was not actually dead in an effort to maintain eligibility for the pension benefits.

Read more: http://www.whec.com/news/florida-man-arrested-theft-nys-pension-benefits/4252035/

[font color=330099]Once again, Florida man is in the headlines.[/font] :sigh: