A Greene County couple today pleaded guilty to grand larceny for stealing over $35,000 in pension payments, New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, Greene County District Attorney Joseph Stanzione, and New York State Police Superintendent Steven G. James announced. As part of their plea agreement, they will pay full restitution.

Kelly Tuomey, 56, and her husband, Stephen B. Tuomey, 60, of Tannersville, appeared before Judge Charles M. Tailleur in Greene County Court. In April, the couple were arrested for cashing pension checks meant for Stephen's deceased father.

"Stephen and Kelly Tuomey hid his father's death and forged his deceased father's name on checks to try to cheat the state pension system of over $35,000 they were not entitled to," DiNapoli said. "They now have been held accountable for their actions. I thank District Attorney Stanzione and the New York State Police for their continued partnership in protecting the pension system."

"Thanks to the thorough work of the New York State Comptroller and the New York State Police my office secured felony convictions against Stephen B. Tuomey and Kelly Tuomey involving the theft of state pension funds," Stanzione said. "As part of their sentence full restitution of $35,240.40 shall be paid within four months. My office continues to be committed to protecting the assets of the pension fund and prosecuting people who receive funds they are not entitled to."

"This couple concocted a scheme to defraud the state pension system out of tens of thousands of dollars. I commend our members, the Comptroller's Office, and Greene County District Attorney's Office for their hard work in exposing this fraud," James said. "This guilty plea should serve as a reminder that those who seek to carry out such deliberate financial scams will be held accountable for their crimes and brought to justice."

Stephen B. Tuomey's father retired from the New York State Office of General Services as a food service worker in May 1997 and subsequently received monthly state pension payments via direct deposit into a joint checking account he shared with the defendants. Stephen Toumey's father was also the beneficiary of his wife's state pension and upon her death received that monthly pension payment via check.

Stephen Toumey's father died in March 2020 and both pension payments should have ended thereafter. However, the Tuomeys did not report the death to the state retirement system. A total of $30,189.80 in electronic payments were made into the joint account and a total of $5,050.16 in paper pension checks made payable to Steven Tuomey's father were cashed after the father's death. When the retirement system learned of the death in 2022, all payments were stopped and an investigation ensued.

Investigators determined that Kelly Tuomey forged her father-in-law's name on the paper checks and deposited them into a joint checking account shared by her, Stephen, and the deceased. She then transferred over $20,000 into her personal bank account and into another bank account which she shared with her husband. The Tuomeys used the money to pay off various credit card bills and for other personal expenses.

Since taking office in 2007, DiNapoli has committed to fighting public corruption and encourages the public to help fight fraud and abuse. New Yorkers can report allegations of fraud involving taxpayer money by calling the toll-free Fraud Hotline at 1-888-672-4555, by emailing a complaint to [email protected]or by mailing a complaint to: Office of the State Comptroller, Division of Investigations, 8th Floor, 110 State St., Albany, NY 12236.