A 69-year-old Pembroke Pines man was arrested last Saturday for allegedly using his deceased mother's identity to unlawfully withdraw funds from her bank accounts. Walter Woods is facing multiple charges, including three counts of fraud and one count of using the personal ID of the deceased, according to details released by Pembroke Pines Police, as reported by Local 10.
After his mother, Birtell Troup, was hospitalized in June 2020, Woods reportedly deposited a $2,800 check from her account into his own. This, came to light when his brother Alfie Troup found the check and observed that the signature did not resemble their mother's. "We ran across her check stubs and it was out of rotation," Alfie told NBC 6. The investigation led to the discovery of further unauthorized transactions made after her death on July 23, 2020.
Authorities were able to corroborate Alfie's suspicions using ATM surveillance footage where Walter was identified by another brother, Melvin Woods. The fraudulent activity including new account openings, balance transfers, and cash withdrawals were conducted between June 28, 2020 and July 26, 2020, involving Woods, Etta Gaston, and the joint account of Birtell P. Woods.
Reportedly, the total amount extracted from the victim's accounts was $6,435.44."I know the first check that he wrote was like $2,800 and then after that he was taking $200 to $300 out of her account every day,” Alfie told NBC 6. Woods also made multiple calls to the bank impersonating his mother to facilitate the illegal transfers.
These incidents came to an end when the Broward Sheriff's Office arrested Walter Woods over the weekend. His court appearance today resulted in a judge setting his bond to $11,500, as per the allegations of grand theft and illegal usage of personal identification.
