Tyler County woman sentenced for mail fraud

WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA – Margaret Ann Moffitt, of Sistersville, West Virginia, was sentenced today to 21 months of incarceration for mail fraud, United States Attorney William Ihlenfeld announced.

Moffitt, 62, pleaded guilty in August 2022 to one count of “Mail Fraud.” Moffitt stole money from the estate of someone in the amount of $156,744.87. As the executor of the estate, she made cash withdrawals and endorsed checks to be mailed to people not associated with the estate in any way. She then caused checks to be mailed to the beneficiaries of the estate, knowing the funds were no longer in the account. She stopped payments on those checks because she knew the funds were gone. The crimes occurred from August 2019 to December 2020 in Tyler and Wetzel Counties.

Moffitt was also ordered to pay $156,744.87 in restitution.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Conklin is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The West Virginia State Police and the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney for Tyler County investigated.

U.S. District Judge John Preston Bailey presided.