Matthew Ashcraft, Wire Fraud, Ohio 2024

A Kentucky man has been charged with attempting to fraudulently obtain $1 million from a victims' fund in a lawsuit against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Covington.

Matthew Ashcraft, 32, of Covington, Ky., allegedly devised a scheme to defraud a victims' fund in the case of et. al. v. Roman Catholic Diocese of Covington, according to a federal grand jury indictment returned yesterday in the Southern District of Ohio.

Ashcraft, who was arrested today by FBI agents, is charged with one count of wire fraud, a crime punishable by up to 30 years in prison, and one count of aggravated identity theft, which carries a potential additional two years in prison.

According to the indictment, in 2006, Ashcraft filed a claim seeking compensation for alleged abuse involving the Roman Catholic Diocese of Covington, et. al. The claim was approved for an award to Ashcraft in 2007 in the amount of $750,000.

In 2014, Ashcraft allegedly obtained the birth certificate of another individual, created an email address in that person's name, and submitted a fraudulent claim for compensation in the Catholic Diocese of Covington lawsuit. Using the victim's name, date of birth, and social security number, Ashcraft caused the submission of a compensation request for approximately $1 million.

Benedict C. Glassman, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and Angela L. Byers, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division, announced the charges.

Ashcraft is currently facing federal charges and is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdoh/pr/kentucky-man-charged-attempting-fraudulently-obtain-1-million-victims-fund