A Livingston County woman has been arrested for allegedly stealing more than 34-THOUSAND dollars of her mom’s public pension payments after she died in 2020. New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, Livingston County District Attorney Gregory McCaffrey and State Police announced the arrest of 59-year-old Patricia Chatley of Nunda on Wednesday.
The arrest came as a result of a joint investigation by the Office of the New York State Comptroller, the Livingston County District Attorney, and the New York State Police. Chatley’s mother, Janet Chatley, worked for the Livingston County Department of Social Services and retired in 1994. Upon her retirement, she received monthly benefits of approximately $1,000 which should have ceased upon her death. Janet Chatley died on January 5, 2020.
Chatley, who works for the Dalton-Nunda Central School District and is a New York State and Local Retirement System (NYSLRS) member, failed to notify the bank or NYSLRS of her mother’s death and continued to collect and transfer the pension fund payments to her personal account. Forensic auditors traced the stolen money from the bank accounts, which Chatley held jointly with her mother, to her personal account, from which she withdrew it and spent it.
DiNapoli’s Division of Investigations became aware of Janet Chatley’s death after receiving an anonymous complaint. According to the investigation, between January of 2020 and June 30, 2022, Chatley allegedly collected a total of 30 unauthorized payments that were meant for her deceased mother totaling $34,548.
Chatley was arrested on Grand Larceny in the 3rd Degree charges. She was issued a desk appearance ticket and must return to court on February 12th.
“Ms. Chatley allegedly concealed her mother’s death to steal tens of thousands of dollars she was not entitled to,” DiNapoli said. “Thanks to my investigative team, the State Police, and District Attorney McCaffrey, she is being held accountable for her actions. My office will continue to work with law enforcement agencies across the state and country to protect the New York State pension system from fraud.”
