EAST ST. LOUIS – The U.S. District Court in East St. Louis announced on Thursday that a Florida woman was arraigned on an indictment in federal court on Wednesday charging her for allegedly scamming her grandmother living in Cahokia Heights out of more than $300,000. Tanya M. Aboseada, 38, of Pompano Beach, Florida, is charged with 12 counts of wire fraud.
“Financial crimes against the elderly for personal gain are intolerable, and offenders will be brought to justice,” said U.S. Attorney Rachelle Aud Crowe.
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FBI Springfield Field Office Special Agent in Charge David Nanz said, “The FBI remains committed to protecting the elderly in our communities from financial fraud and holding accountable those who exploit them.”
The indictment alleges Aboseada convinced her grandmother to wire money into her bank account under false pretenses on at least 12 occasions between November 2021 and August 2022. Aboseada lied about needing money in order to transfer a truck title into her name, pay money she owed to the IRS, pay attorney fees and fines for a vehicular accident she was in, and to pay the family of a child she killed in a vehicular accident to avoid going to jail.
In total, the fraudulent transactions exceeded $300,000.
An indictment is merely a formal charge against a defendant. Under the law, a defendant is presumed to be innocent of a charge until proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt to the satisfaction of a jury. Wire fraud is punishable by up to 20 years imprisonment. This case was brought as part of the Department of Justice’s Elder Fraud Initiative. Information about the Department of Justice’s Elder Fraud Initiative is available at www.justice.gov/elderjustice. The FBI Springfield Field Office is conducting the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Verseman is prosecuting the case.
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