DANSVILLE WOMAN SENTENCED FOR BILKING ELDERLY VICTIM OUT OF TENS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that Nahtahna Castner, 46, of Dansville, NY, who was convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, was sentenced to serve 48 months in prison pleaded guilty by U.S. District Judge Charles J. Siragusa.
Between July 2020, and February 2023, Castner and another individual (co-conspirator) conspired to defraud an elderly victim. In July 2020, Castner had the trust of an elderly and vulnerable neighbor, who was over 90 years old. Using Castner’s position of trust, the co-conspirator gained access to the victim banking information. Castner and the co-conspirator then began withdrawing large sums of cash from ATMs, initiating wire transfers to Castner’s personal bank account, and making purchases using the victim’s debit card. Castner and the co-conspirator executed approximately $252,672.97 worth of unauthorized transactions. Over the course of the fraud, the victim bank account savings went from approximately $283,954.95 to $99.59. In addition, Castner and the co-conspirator also used the victim’s personal identifying information to apply for three credit cards in the victim’s name. They then used the credit cards to make purchases resulting in fraud against three financial institutions in the amount of $2,039.04, $819.33, and $809.74.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas M. Testani. The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Allen D. Davis, II and the New York State Department of Financial Services, under the direction of Acting Superintendent Kaitlin Asrow.
