New York Woman Accused of Stealing Money From Her Deceased Mother

The good old American dollar does not take us as far as it used to. Gas prices are over $3 a gallon in most places, groceries seem to be more expensive than ever and now experts say you need to make around $100,000 a year just to live comfortably in New York State.

Most New Yorkers pick up a second or third job when money gets tight. One individual recently did the unthinkable. A New York woman is accused of stealing money for her dead mother.

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Between January of 2020 and July of 2022, according to a New York State press release, 59-year-old Patricia Chatley of Nunda, NY allegedly stole nearly $35,000 from her mother's pension. Chatley's mother died January 5, 2020.

An investigation by the Office of the New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, the Livingston County District Attorney, and the New York State Police discovered that the suspects mother retired in 1994 and received approximately $1000 a month in pensions.

This investigation began with an anonymous tip. As officials looked deeper into this case some of what they discovered is that Chatley and he mother shared a joint bank account. The pension payments appear to have gone into that account, transferred into Chatley's personal account and withdrawn.

Chatley was arrested on Grand Larceny in the 3^rd Degree charges. She was issued a desk appearance ticket and must return to court on February 12, 2024.

Ms. Chatley allegedly concealed her mother’s death to steal tens of thousands of dollars she was not entitled to. Thanks to my investigative team, the State Police, and District Attorney McCaffrey, she is being held accountable for her actions. - Thomas P. DeNapoli