Feds Say Dad Raided Kids' PFD, Inheritance Money for Stripper |
By Kyle Hopkins, Anchorage Daily News, Alaska Oct. 29--A Chugiak man is accused of using fraud to plunder family Permanent Fund dividend money from his kids' college savings accounts and spending the cash on an exotic dancer in Las Vegas, federal prosecutors announced today. A federal grand jury indicted Wyatt Alan Whaley, 52, on charges of mail fraud, wire fraud and identity theft in the case, according to U.S. Attorney Karen Loeffler. Between October 2007 and March 2008, Whaley schemed to "fraudulently obtain" money from bank accounts that belonged to his wife and two children, according to the indictment. The money was given to, or spent on, the dancer with whom Whaley had an extra-marital affair, according to the feds. Whaley took at least $36,300 from his family accounts, the indictment says. That includes $12,300 from college savings accounts created with family dividend money as well as $24,000 from separate savings accounts Whaley's wife set up with inheritance money for herself and the kids, the indictment says. The Department of Justice accuses Whaley of: --Contacting the administrator of his wife and children's Permanent Fund Dividend-fed college savings accounts and pretending to be his wife in order to get his hands on nearly all the money in the accounts. --Forging his wife's and kids' signatures on checks from the college savings plan accounts. --Linking an E*Trade account that he controlled to credit union accounts that belonged solely to his wife and children. His wife had created the accounts using inheritance money she received in the 1990s, the indictment says. . --Ultimately giving the money from his wife and children's accounts to himself and his "paramour" -- including using the money to pay for a credit card he and his girlfriend used. The Alaska Financial Crimes Task Force, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and FBI investigated the case. Whaley faces three mail fraud counts, three wire fraud counts and one count of aggravated identity theft, the Justice Department says. Reporter Kyle Hopkins can be reached at khopkins@adn.com or at 257-4334. ----- To see more of the Anchorage Daily News, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.adn.com. Copyright (c) 2009, Anchorage Daily News, Alaska Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. A service of YellowBrix, Inc. |
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