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Prosecutors charged Ayanna Nesbitt, 50, of Chicago, with five
counts of wire fraud, according to a nine-page indictment.
From 2019 to 2021, Nesbitt fraudulently created 43 false payment
requests, defrauding the plan of $356,934, according to the
indictment.
Nesbitt, who worked as a clerk for the Retirement Plan for
Chicago Transit Authority Employees, created and got approval
for fraudulent payment requests for retirement benefits,
including death benefits and pension contribution refunds, to
purported CTA retirees or their beneficiaries, according to the
indictment in U.S. District Court in Chicago.
The payment requests contained false and fraudulent
representations about the purported recipients’ identities and
entitlement to the payments, according to the indictment.
In some cases, Nesbitt accepted the fraudulently obtained funds
in accounts she controlled. In others, she had the money paid to
others and then transferred to her, according to the indictment.
Nesbitt's attorney, Jordan Greenberg, could not immediately be
reached for comment. The Chicago Transit Authority could not
immediately be reached for comment.
Each count of wire fraud is punishable by up to 20 years in
prison.
Nesbitt's arraignment is set for 1:30 p.m. Dec. 8 before U.S.
District Judge Matthew Kennelly.
Brett Rowland is an award-winning
journalist who has worked as an editor and reporter in newsrooms
in Illinois and Wisconsin. He is an investigative reporter for
The Center Square.
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