A mother and daughter from Ft. Branch have been charged with COVID-19 related wire fraud as part of well-organized criminal ring.
According to a press release from U.S. Attorney office in Evansville, 60 year old Rose Ann Azzarello and her daughter, 38 year old Renee Pytlinski, both of Ft. Branch, have been arrested and charged with wire fraud.
The report says that on May 15, the Ft. Branch Police Department received a complaint from the Field and Main Bank in Evansville about unemployment benefits, related to the CARES Act from Washington State, had been transferred into accounts held by Azzarello and Pytlinski. The U.S. Attorney’s office says this was part of an year-long scheme in which the women received unemployment funds from the State of Washington, would withdraw the funds, and send a portion of the ill-gotten money to a third party, while keeping their share.
This case was the result of an investigation by the United States Secret Service, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Ft. Branch Police Department.
The United States Secret Service has received reports about a well-organized fraud ring exploiting the COVID-19 crisis to commit large-scale fraud against state unemployment insurance programs. The primary state targeted so far is Washington.
This fraud network is believed to consist of hundreds, if not thousands, of money mules with potential losses in the millions of dollars. The financial institutions targeted have been at all levels including local banks, credit unions and large national banks.
