Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Kimberly Cardella, 59, of Rensselaer, NY was arraigned today in Albany, NY before U.S. Magistrate Daniel J. Stewart on multiple counts including bank fraud, theft of government property and aggravated identity theft. A federal grand jury indicted Cardella on September 3, 2026. The charges arise from a joint investigation involving the Social Security Administration’s Office of the Inspector General and the New York State Comptroller’s Office. According to the indictment, Cardella’s mother-in-law was a Social Security beneficiary and a NYS pensioner who passed away in 2009. Because neither the Social Security Administration nor the New York State and Local Retirement System had been made aware of the death, both agencies continued to fund the dead mother-in-law’s checking account. Cardella wrote checks for her personal use against that account, signing the checks in her mother-in-law’s name for nearly 17 years after the death. This caused a loss of more than $530,000.00 to the Social Security program and more than $138,000.00 to the NYS pension fund. This action is part of an ongoing effort of the Trump Administration’s Fraud Task Force aimed at eliminating fraud across the country.