Her mom died in 2014, but she kept collecting her pension benefits, NY prosecutor says

A woman’s mother died in 2014 and authorities say she kept the death ”concealed” to collect her pension benefits, according to New York’s attorney general.

For six years, Cynthia Rozzell, of Hempstead, Long Island, stole more than $240,000 of her mother’s monthly pension benefits from the New York State Teachers’ Retirement System, Attorney General Letitia James announced in an Aug. 9 news release.

Rozzell pleaded guilty to second-degree grand larceny in Albany County Court and must pay back $240,000 after stealing the money between 2014 and 2020, according to the release.

In 1996, her mother, Mary Garrett, retired from the Malverne Union Free School District and chose to receive the “maximum payout” in pension money instead of choosing someone else to receive the benefits after she died, the attorney general’s office says.

However, after Garrett’s death in 2014, the state’s teachers’ retirement system was unaware and continued to deposit pension benefits in her bank account, according to the release.

As a result, James says, Rozzell “diverted” the money into her own bank account for years. Once the pension group discovered the mother was dead, the payments stopped.

McClatchy News contacted Rozzell’s attorney for comment on Aug. 10 and was awaiting a response.

Rozzell’s sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 4, according to the release.

Hempstead is roughly 30 miles east of New York City.

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