Couple aged 87 and 89 accused of stealing $1m in pension and not reporting her mother’s death for a decade

Mary Ann Arceneaux, 87, and her husband Ernest, 89, have been arrested on identity theft charges after they allegedly collected more than $1 million from Mary Ann's deceased mother's pension - (Gwinnett County Police Department)

Georgia police have arrested an 87-year-old woman and her 89-year-old husband after she allegedly stole more than $1 million from her deceased mother's pension payments over the course of a decade, according to court documents.

Mary Ann Arceneaux and her husband Ernest, of Snellville, Georgia, were charged with identity theft fraud and theft by deception following an investigation by the Gwinnett County Police Department, according to a WSB-TV 2.

According to the arrest warrant, which was issued on December 10, Arceneaux's mother retired from her teaching job and moved to California in 1991, and died in June 2010. Georgia police allege that the Arceneauxs never informed the California State Teachers' Retirement System that her mother died, and then allegedly faked documents to give the impression that she was still alive.

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

Police said that Arceneaux began allegedly forging documents in May 2018 and submitted fraudulent proof-of-life forms to continue receiving her mother's pension payments. She allegedly continued to do this every year since.

Officials with the California State Teachers' Retirement System discovered the alleged fraud while they were conducting routine verification checks and found the mother's 2010 death certificate.

“They were able to locate a death certificate on that former employee who was deceased in 2010,” Winderweedle said.

According to police, the payments were deposited into a bank account, and were then moved to other accounts controlled by Arceneaux. In total, Arceneaux allegedly collected $1,116,862.69, according to the arrest warrant.

Reporters at WSB-TV 2 went to Arceneaux's house to ask her about the allegations. She denied defrauding anyone, and declined to provide further comment.

Arceneaux and her husband were arrested last week and have since posted bail.

It is unclear if California will take action to recover the money allegedly collected by Arceneaux.