A Bessemer man has been charged in an elder fraud scheme, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona and FBI special agent in charge Carlton L. Peeples.
A two-count indictment filed in U.S. District Court charges Terrance Alonzo Pruitt, 47, of Bessemer, with wire fraud.
According to the indictment, in September 2023, Pruitt executed a Power of Attorney over the victim, an elderly family member, without the victim’s knowledge or permission.
Between September 2023 and December 2023, Pruitt devised a scheme to defraud the victim by becoming a joint account holder on the victim’s bank accounts, removing two payable on death (POD) beneficiaries from one of the accounts, and adding two POD beneficiaries to an account.
Pruitt also transferred more than $500,000 in funds from the victim’s accounts to his personal bank accounts.
Pruitt faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
The FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan S. Rummage is prosecuting the case.
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