Elderly Couple Arrested for Allegedly Stealing $1M in Deceased Mother’s Pension Payments

An 87-year-old woman and her 89-year-old husband have been arrested for allegedly stealing more than $1 million in pension payments meant for her deceased mother, authorities say.

Mary Ann Arceneaux and her husband, Ernest, were charged with identity theft fraud and theft by deception following an investigation by the Gwinnett County Police Department in Georgia.

According to the arrest warrant, Arceneaux’s mother, a retired teacher, moved to California in 1991 and passed away in June 2010. However, police allege that the couple never informed the California State Teachers’ Retirement System of her death, instead forging documents for over a decade to keep collecting her benefits.

“The daughter failed to notify anybody, the bank, the California Teacher Retirement System, or anybody that she had passed away,” said Ryan Winderweedle of the Gwinnett County Police Department.

Authorities say Arceneaux began submitting fraudulent proof-of-life forms in 2018 and continued the scheme annually, ultimately collecting $1,116,862.69. The alleged fraud was uncovered when the retirement system conducted a routine verification check and found the mother’s 2010 death certificate.

Reporters from WSB-TV 2 confronted Arceneaux at her home in Snellville, Georgia, where she denied defrauding anyone but declined to comment further.

The couple was arrested last week and has since posted bail. It remains unclear whether California officials will take action to recover the stolen pension funds.