Walter Woods ARRESTED; – A man was apprehended in Pembroke Pines on Saturday, charged with utilizing his deceased mother’s identity to transfer funds, according to police reports.
Walter Woods, aged 69, is facing three counts of fraud for attempting to use another person’s identification without consent, as well as one count of fraud for using the personal identification of a deceased individual. As reported by Pembroke Pines, the victim, 83-year-old Birtell Troup, was hospitalized until her passing on July 23, 2020.
An arrest report indicated that while Troup was hospitalized, Woods deposited a check from her bank account amounting to $2,800, made payable to himself, into his own bank account.
Aflie Troup, Troup’s son, examined the check and noticed the substantial amount, as well as the fact that the signature appeared to be traced and did not resemble his mother’s authentic signature, according to the report.
During the investigation, the report stated that officers acquired surveillance footage from the ATM where Woods deposited the check, and Troup’s other son, Melvin Woods, identified the suspect as his brother Walter. Police noted that Walter resided with his mother prior to her hospitalization and had access to her phone, personal documents, and credit cards.
Following Birtell’s death, the report mentioned that Alfie discovered unusual activity occurring in her Bank of America checking account and her Capital One Mastercard while she was in the hospital.
Records from both Bank of America and Capital One revealed that balance transfers were conducted between June 28, 2020, and July 26, 2020, to Navy Federal Credit Union accounts owned by Walter, Etta Gaston, and Birtell P. Woods, as stated in the report. The report detailed that the account was established on June 29, 2020, using Birtell’s Social Security number and date of birth, with Walter listed as the co-owner of the joint account.
Walter subsequently funded the new account with an initial transfer of $100 from his mother’s Bank of America account, as reported. The NFCU then received an additional $2,500 from the victim’s Bank of America account and $200 from her Capital One Mastercard. Police reported that Walter executed 10 transfers of $250 each between July 7, 2020, and July 28, 2020.
At one point, the report said, Walter called NFCU eight times to try and transfer his mother’s money into the new account. In six of those calls, he impersonated her by using her debit card number and social security number.
Walter also made a call to NFCU the day after his mother died as he tried to make a transfer, the report said. Aside from creating the fraudulent account, the report said in October 2020, Walter used his mother’s Mastercard at a CVS, an ABC Fine Wine and Spirits and a Citibank ATM. In total, Walter took $6,435.44, the report said.
