THE CRIMINAL COPS OF NEW YORK:
Edward Ian St. Hill, 52, a NYPD officer, and his wife accused of using dead mother's identity to steal $300K
Eyewitness News
Wednesday, September 19, 2018
MARINE PARK, Brooklyn (WABC) -- An NYPD officer and his wife are accused of using his dead mother's identity to steal more than $300,000.
Edward Ian St. Hill, 52, and Maria Ramos, 45, of Marine Park, Brooklyn, were arraigned Tuesday on a 101-count indictment.
The couple is facing charges of conspiracy, identity theft, scheme to defraud, grand larceny, money laundering, falsely reporting an incident, possession of a controlled substance.
Officials say Hill's mother died in June 2016. The couple allegedly impersonated her in multiple phone calls to scam various financial institutions.
Officials say they used her identity to steal Social Security and pension benefits that totaled $100,000 and fraudulently sold her home for $260,000. They also allegedly attempted to defraud another $160,000 in life insurance annuities.
The couple is also accused of refilling the woman's prescription for Percocet more than a dozen times after she died.
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez released the following statement:
"These defendants, a police officer and his wife, allegedly took advantage of his own mother's death to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars to which they were not entitled. This greedy and macabre conduct is even more egregious because police officers take an oath to uphold the law. We now intend to hold both defendants accountable for their alleged criminal conduct."
Hill, a 16-year veteran of the NYPD, is being held on $200,000 bond and his wife is being held on $50,000 bond.
Both were ordered to return to court in November and face up to 25 years if convicted on the top count.
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NYPD Cop And Wife Busted For Cashing Dead Mom’s Benefits
By Dawn Davis
Published on September 18, 2018
An NYPD officer and his wife pretended that his dead mother was still alive so they could cash her Social Security and pension checks and even refilled her prescriptions.
According to authorities, officer Edward St. Hill and Maria Ramos are accused of raking in the dough and pills meant for mom Germain St. Hill. They were even accused of selling her home for more than two years after her June 2016 death. Following selling her house, they refilled her prescription for Percocet 14 times.
The couple was also accused of selling the mom’s home for $260,000, attempting to defraud her life insurance policy out of an additional $160,000. They even went as far as impersonating the dead woman during phone calls to keep up the ruse.
Authorities did not say if they were using the oxycodone pills themselves, or selling them. The couple pleaded “not guilty” on Tuesday before the Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun, to charges of criminal possession of a controlled substance, grand larceny, identity theft, forgery, and other counts.
Prosecutors said that authorities also discovered five guns including an AK-47 and a ledger detailing ill-gotten funds during a search of the pair’s Marine Park home. St. Hill, who was assigned to Manhattan’s 28th Precinct, was supposed to surrender his firearms when he was placed on modified duty last year.
They’ll be back in court later this week to face charges related to those findings. Chun ordered the 53-year-old cop held on $200,000 bond, and his 45-year-old wife held on $50,000 bond. They face up to 25 years behind bars if convicted on the top count.
“These defendants, a police officer, and his wife, allegedly took advantage of his own mother’s death to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars to which they were not entitled,” Brooklyn DA Eric Gonzalez said in a statement.
“This greedy and macabre conduct is even more egregious because police officers take an oath to uphold the law.”