BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) – A Texas man has been sentenced to prison in Alabama for a scheme designed to steal more than $650,000 from a retirement account after the account owner and designated beneficiary both died.
A news release from the office of Acting United States Attorney Robert O. Posey says 44-year-old Dwayne Ellis Baptiste was sentenced Thursday to six years and three months in prison on four counts of wire fraud, one count of mail fraud, and one count of aggravated identity theft after pleading guilty in February.
Posey says Baptiste formed a company, faked power of attorney and used stolen identifying information and a forged signature to divert money from Ronald Swinehart’s account after he and his son, Ralph Swinehart, died in October 2011.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case.