Woman charged in scheme to defraud U.S. Marshals’ charity
EAST ST. LOUIS – A woman has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges that accuse her of attempting to defraud a charity tournament that benefited two law enforcement organizations.
An indictment was returned against Pamela Denise Robtoy, 53, of Belleville, charging her with counts of mail fraud, wire fraud, and making a false statement to federal agents, said the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton.
Robtoy faces possible prison sentences totaling up to 45 years, a fine of up to $250,000, up to three years of supervised release after serving a sentence, and a mandatory order of restitution.
“All theft from charities is intolerable. Theft by any person from charities striving to honor a first responder who lost his life protecting the public is simply disgusting and abhorrent!” Wigginton said in a prepared statement that included the exclamation point.
The indictment alleges that Robtoy embezzled funds from the 3rd Annual John Perry Golf Benefit held in October 2013. The proceeds from the charitable event were to benefit the U.S. Marshals Survivors Benefit Fund and BackStoppers, Inc. The annual golf tournament was a charitable benefit held annually to remember Deputy U.S. Marshal John Brookman Perry, who was killed in the line of duty on Tuesday, March 8, 2011.
The wire fraud count alleges that Robtoy sent an email to a deputy United States marshal falsely indicating that the checks to the U.S. Marshals Survivors Benefit Fund and The
BackStoppers, Inc. had been reissued in an effort to avoid detection of her scheme. The false statement count alleges that Robtoy lied to federal agents when she said she started taking money from the benefit fund in November of 2013, when in fact, she started embezzling funds from the account as soon as the account was created, Wigginton said.
The investigation was conducted by the Postal Inspection Service with the assistance of other federal agencies. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Norman R. Smith.
