Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg Jr. today announced the guilty plea of ALFREDO MATEO, 38, an Upper West Side doorman, for stealing approximately $477,685 from a retired New York City schoolteacher and her husband. MATEO pleaded guilty in a New York State Supreme Court to one count each of Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, Identity Theft in the First Degree, and Grand Larceny in the Fourth Degree. Under the terms of his plea, he is expected to be sentenced to a promised term of 1-3 years in state prison, forfeiture of $115,638, and a judgment order for the victims on September 24, 2025. 

“Using more than two dozen stolen checks, Alfredo Mateo depleted the bank accounts these New Yorkers built over the course of decades of hard work,” said District Attorney Bragg. “While both victims have sadly passed away, we were determined to hold Mateo accountable for this disturbing fraud. Alongside our investigative partners, we will remain vigilant in protecting older New Yorkers’ hard-earned savings, including those who dedicated their lives to teaching young people.” 

Special Commissioner Anastasia Coleman added, “Defrauding retirees is among the most serious crimes that our office combats. As the Inspector General of TRS, I reaffirm the office’s firm commitment to protecting the integrity of our retirement systems and the funds of our retirees. I would like to thank our partners at the Manhattan DA’s office, especially those from the Major Economic Crimes Bureau, and our colleagues at TRS, for their efforts and partnership throughout this important case.”

According to court documents and statements made on the record in court, and as admitted in the defendant’s guilty plea, MATEO defrauded a retired schoolteacher and her husband of approximately $477,685. During the course of the fraud, the teacher resided in a nursing home, where she lived under a court-ordered guardianship as an incapacitated person. Her husband remained in their 380 Riverside Drive apartment until his death of natural causes on September 1, 2022. 

On September 2, 2022, MATEO deposited the first of twenty-six checks he stole from the teacher. MATEO wrote most of the checks to himself from the teacher’s bank account and deposited them into his personal account. Many of the checks displayed false explanations in the memo line. MATEO also wrote and deposited a check payable to himself from the husband’s ’s account for $3,000. 

In addition to depleting the couple’s bank accounts, MATEO began a campaign to steal from the teacher’s annuity and pension, which she earned through years of service teaching in New York City schools. 

MATEO stole a form mailed to the apartment building from the Teachers’ Retirement System of the City of New York (“TRS”) and the teacher’s personal information from this form to submit five falsified forms to TRS between May 5, 2023, and October 12, 2023. 

These forms, two of which were submitted after the teacher’s death in July 2023, caused disbursements from her annuity, and sought to change the direct deposit on her TRS Membership to MATEO’s personal bank account. Additionally, MATEO stole several TRS Pension checks that had been mailed to the teacher after her death. 

MATEO called TRS twice from his phone, pretending to be the teacher – who was ninety-one-years old at the time – to change the phone number on her TRS Membership. After the first call failed, MATEO attempted to change his voice to sound like an older woman in the second call. 

Assistant D.A. Thomas Reilly and Assistant D.A. and Senior Investigative Counsel Imran Ahmed   of the Major Economic Crimes Bureau are handling the prosecution of this case under the supervision of Christine Payne (Deputy Chief of the Major Economic Crimes Bureau), Michael Ohm (Chief of the Major Economic Crimes Bureau) and Executive Assistant D.A. Jodie Kane (Chief of the Investigation Division). Investigative Analyst Zana Frluckaj, Discovery Analyst Arlinda Xhuveli, former Investigative Analysts Madison Dyer and Christian Bethea, former Investigator Kyle Bianco, Investigators Ryan Lemon, Josellina Nardulli, Noah Dent, and Gabriella Robinson, and Supervising Investigator Max Adler provided valuable analysis and assistance in the investigation. 

D.A. Bragg thanked the Special Commissioner of Investigation for the New York City School District and Confidential Investigator Philip Sansone for their partnership in the investigation. 

Defendant Information: 

ALFREDO MATEO 

Yonkers, NY 

Convicted:

• Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, a class C felony, one count
• Identity Theft in the First Degree, a class D felony, one count
• Grand Larceny in the Fourth Degree, a class E felony, one count 

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