Dwayne Ellis Baptiste, Retirement Account Theft, Alabama 2011

A Texas man is facing serious charges for stealing more than $545,000 from a retirement account after the account owner and his designated beneficiary both died.

Dwayne Ellis Baptiste, 43, was indicted by a federal grand jury in connection to the scheme, announced U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance and FBI Special Agent in Charge Roger C. Stanton.

An 11-count indictment filed in U.S. District Court charges Baptiste with four counts of wire fraud, one count of mail fraud, four counts of money laundering and one count of aggravated identity theft.

According to the indictment, Baptiste lived in Huntsville in 2011 and was acquainted with Ralph Swinehart, who along with his father, Ronald Swinehart, also lived in Huntsville. Ronald Swinehart was a retired employee of Lockheed Martin Corporation and had a retirement savings account through the company.

After Ronald Swinehart's death, Baptiste filed a fraudulent power of attorney in Madison County Probate Court in October appointing himself as Ronald Swinehart's agent. He then opened two commercial accounts in the name of Swinehart Investment Solutions at BBVA Compass Bank and changed the beneficiary designation on Ronald Swinehart's retirement account from Ralph Swinehart to himself.

Baptiste committed four counts of wire fraud when he directed four transfers, totaling $545,669, from the retirement account to a BBVA account. He also committed mail fraud when he mailed a package containing a fraudulent 'spousal consent form' to ING, and laundered money by transferring funds through various bank accounts.

The maximum penalty for wire fraud and mail fraud is 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine. The maximum penalty for money laundering is 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine. The penalty for aggravated identity theft is two years in prison, which must be served after completion of any other sentence imposed for an associated crime.

The FBI investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney's Manu Balachandran and John B. Ward are prosecuting.

An indictment contains only charges. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndal/pr/texas-man-faces-multiple-charges-stealing-dead-man-s-retirement-fund