Woman Indicted For Scheme To Defraud Charities

Follow @SDILNews

A federal grand jury returned an indictment against Pamela Denise Robtoy, 53, of Belleville, Illinois. The indictment contains three-counts, charging mail fraud, wire fraud, and making a false statement to federal agents conducting a criminal investigation, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, announced today. Robtoy faces possible prison sentences totaling up to 45 years, a fine of up to $250,000, up to 3 years of supervised release after serving her 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!” said United States Attorney Wigginton.

The indictment alleges that Pamela Denise Robtoy embezzled funds from the 3rd Annual John Perry Golf Benefit held in October of 2013. The proceeds from the charitable event were to benefit the U.S. Marshals Survivors Benefit Fund and BackStoppers, Inc. The Annual John Perry Golf Benefit 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 Pamela Denise 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 Pamela Denise 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.

An indictment is a formal charge against a defendant. Under the law, a defendant is presumed to be innocent of a charge and is entitled to a fair trial at which the Government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

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.