CHICAGO — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)), published as received.
CHICAGO — A former clerk for the Retirement Plan for Chicago Transit Authority Employees has been indicted on federal charges for allegedly fraudulently obtaining more than $350,000 in Plan funds.
AYANNA NESBITT created and obtained approval for fraudulent payment requests of various retirement benefits, including death benefits and pension contribution refunds, to purported CTA retirees or their beneficiaries, according to an indictment returned Thursday in U.S. District Court in Chicago. The payment requests contained false and fraudulent representations about the purported recipients’ identities and entitlement to the payments, the indictment states. Nesbitt either accepted the fraudulently obtained funds in accounts she controlled or else had the money paid to others and then transferred to Nesbitt, the charges allege.
From 2019 to 2021, Nesbitt fraudulently created approximately 43 false payment requests, defrauding the Plan of approximately $356,934, the indictment states.
The indictment charges Nesbitt, 50, of Chicago, with five counts of wire fraud. Arraignment is set for Dec. 8, 2022, at 1:30 p.m., before U.S. District Judge Matthew F. Kennelly.
The indictment was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and John S. Morales, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher K. Veatch.
The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Each count of wire fraud is punishable by up to 20 years in federal prison. If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
