Semiha Nilgun Gencsoy, Pension Fund Theft, West Virginia 2023

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A Florida woman has been sentenced for stealing West Virginia pension funds over 15 years.

Semiha Nilgun Gencsoy, 71, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, was sentenced today to five years of federal probation and ordered to pay $328,478.38 in restitution for possession of stolen money.

Gencsoy admitted that over 15 years, she fraudulently received West Virginia public employee pension benefits totaling $328,478.38 that did not belong to her.

Gencsoy's father was a professor of mechanical engineering at West Virginia University, and when he retired in June 1985, he qualified for and began receiving West Virginia public employee pension benefits.

After her father's death in June 2007, her mother began receiving survivor benefits from the West Virginia Consolidated Public Retirement Board (WVCPRB) as his widow. The monthly payments were directly deposited into a joint bank account that Gencsoy shared with her mother.

Gencsoy's mother died in April 2008, and Gencsoy was appointed to administer her estate. However, she knew her father's benefits expired upon her mother's death and failed to notify the WVCPRB and close their joint banking account.

From approximately May 2008 through June 2023, the joint bank account received more than 180 monthly survivor's benefit pension payments totaling $328,478.38 through direct deposit. Gencsoy used the money to pay for her personal expenses.

The sentencing was announced by Acting United States Attorney Lisa G. Johnston, who commended the investigative work of the West Virginia Consolidated Public Retirement Board (WVCPRB) and the West Virginia State Police – Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI).

United States District Judge Thomas E. Johnston imposed the sentence, and Assistant United States Attorney Jonathan T. Storage prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:25-cr-75.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdwv/pr/florida-woman-sentenced-stealing-west-virginia-pension-funds-over-15-years