A Rochester woman has admitted to stealing nearly $13,000 in pension payments that continued after her mother’s death — and has now repaid the full amount as part of a plea deal.
According to the Office of the New York State Comptroller, Karen Walsh, 68, pleaded guilty to petit larceny in Rochester City Court after investigators uncovered that she kept collecting her deceased mother’s state pension for over a year.
How the theft happened
Walsh’s mother was receiving monthly pension payments as the surviving spouse of a former New York State employee. When she passed away in 2020, those payments should have stopped. But Walsh failed to report the death to the state retirement system and instead withdrew $12,973 for her own use.
Investigators say she accessed the funds by transferring over $8,000 into a second account in her mother’s name — one she also controlled — and used forged checks and online payments to cover personal expenses like credit card bills, groceries, and home improvements.
In total, $19,524 in pension funds were misdirected, though Walsh was only found to have directly stolen $12,973.
Accountability and restitution
Walsh entered her plea before Judge Van H. White and was ordered to pay full restitution upfront as part of the agreement.
State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said the case is part of his office’s broader effort to fight fraud and protect taxpayer-funded programs. “Ms. Walsh tried to profit off of her mother’s death and defraud the state pension system,” he said. “Now… she has been held accountable.”
Officials emphasized that fraud like this is an offense against the public trust.
How to report fraud
Since taking office in 2007, DiNapoli has made fighting public corruption a priority. New Yorkers can report suspected fraud involving taxpayer money by calling the Comptroller’s Fraud Hotline at 1-888-672-4555 or submitting a report online at osc.ny.gov/investigations.
FingerLakes1.com is the region’s leading all-digital news publication. The company was founded in 1998 and has been keeping residents informed for more than two decades. Have a lead? Send it to [email protected].