Fraud Began While Teacher was in Nursing Home, Continued After Both Victims Died

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg Jr. today announced the indictment 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 is charged in a New York State Supreme Court indictment with one count each of Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the Second Degree, Identity Theft in the First Degree, among other charges. [1] 

“As alleged, Alfredo Mateo abused his access as a doorman to deplete the financial accounts of a retired teacher who was living in a nursing home, and her husband, who had recently passed away,” said District Attorney Bragg. “Those who take advantage of the access entrusted in them to target older community members and steal from hardworking New Yorkers will be held accountable. I thank the Special Commissioner of Investigation for the New York City School District for their partnership in the investigation.” 

“Public service retirees are among the most vulnerable population in our City. In my capacity as the Inspector General for TRS, we will continue to aggressively investigate and, as here with the help of our partners, prosecute those who would take advantage of and defraud elderly retirees and their families,” said Special Commissioner Anastasia Coleman. “There can be no tolerance for this type of fraud in any of our retirement systems.  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 assistance in this matter.”

According to court documents and statements made on the record in court, 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 contained in 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). Paralegals Zana Frluckaj and Christian Bethea, Discovery Analyst Arlinda Xhuveli, Investigative Analyst Madison Dyer, Investigators Kyle Bianco, Ryan Lemon, Josellina Nardulli, and Noah Dent, and Supervising Investigator Max Adler provided 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 

Charged:

• Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, a class C felony, one count
• Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the Second Degree, a class C felony, one count
• Identity Theft in the First Degree, a class D felony, one count
• Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument in the Second Degree, a class D felony, one count
• Grand Larceny in the Fourth Degree, a class E felony, one count
• Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree, a class E felony, five counts 
• Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree, a class E felony, one count

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[1] The charges contained in the indictment are merely allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. All factual recitations are derived from documents filed in court and statements made on the record in court.