State employee arrested for trying to scam state retirement system out of more than $4,000

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli and the New York State Police announced on May 3 that a former New York State Department of Education employee — Shannon Brady, 52, of Albany — was arrested. Brady allegedly falsely claimed to the New York State and Local Retirement System (NYSLRS) that she never received a […]

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New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli and the New York State Police announced on May 3 that a former New York State Department of Education employee — Shannon Brady, 52, of Albany — was arrested. Brady allegedly falsely claimed to the New York State and Local Retirement System (NYSLRS) that she never received a $4,055 loan check in order to get a replacement check in the same amount. 

Both checks were then cashed separately. This arrest was the result of a joint investigation conducted by the Office of the State Comptroller and the State Police, per a May 3 news release from the comptroller’s office.

“Shannon Brady tried to scam the New York State and Local Retirement System by lying that she had never received a loan check,” DiNapoli said. “Thanks to my partnership with the New York State Police, we uncovered this fraud, and she will now be held accountable for her actions.”

Brady was working as a state employee when, on Oct. 14, 2021, she submitted a request to NYSLRS for a loan against her pension in the amount of $4,055. After she received the check, Brady signed it over to an unrelated third-party, purportedly to satisfy a debt, the release stated. 

Brady then called NYSLRS and falsely claimed that the first check had never arrived and requested a replacement. The system placed a stop payment on the first loan check and sent Brady a new one, which she cashed. In the meantime, the third party had deposited the original check. Once the stop payment was placed on it, however, the bank recovered the $4,055 from the third-party’s account. 

Brady is scheduled to appear back in court on May 24, the comptroller’s office said.

Jornal Staff: