Pair targeted seriously ill veterans, stealing about $8,000 from their bank accounts.
An ex-servicemember and his accomplice allegedly stole thousands of dollars from patients in VA medical center intensive care units while he was behind bars, according to the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington.
Darryl Lamont Young, 46, and Aqueelah Ngiesha Williams, 27, are accused of making thousands of phone calls to VA medical centers between December 2021 and October 2024 and defrauding patients with the promise of “stimulus” payments. Young was incarcerated in the King County Jail and the Monroe (Washington) Correctional Complex for much of that time. With the assistance of Williams – who was not behind bars – the pair was able to steal about $8,000 from the hospitalized veterans’ bank accounts.
“The conduct in this case is truly shocking,” U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman says. “While they did not get a huge amount of money with this scheme, the harm they caused to those already suffering a health crisis is deserving of federal prosecution.”
It’s also a grim reminder to never share personal information over the phone or in emails. This includes bank account numbers, PINs, passwords or even confirming your Social Security number, according to the Consumer Federation of America.
The pair was indicted Oct. 2 on six federal charges, including wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. Young was being held in the King County (Washington) Jail on a $50,000 bond pending trial on separate burglary and assault charges at the time the federal charges was issued. He remains in jail. Williams entered a not-guilty plea Oct. 4 and is free on a personal recognizance bond.
Telephone scheme Young served in the Army and was somewhat familiar with VA benefits, prosecutors say. He used the jail phone system to call VA facilities and then asked to be transferred to the intensive care unit. Because the call was transferred, ICU staff wouldn’t have heard the initial warning that the call was coming from a prison inmate, says Emily Langlie, communications director for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Seattle. Once connected to the ICU, Young pretended to be a VA employee who needed information for “bed checks or some administrative reason,” including patients’ phone numbers and the phone numbers of their emergency contacts.
In some cases, Young then called veterans in the VA ICUs directly, according to the federal indictment. In other cases, he called Williams and she placed a three-way call to the veteran or their emergency contact to conceal the fact that the call was coming from an inmate. In both situations, Young allegedly pretended to be a VA employee who needed personal information in order to deposit fictitious “veteran’s stimulus” payments in the patient’s bank account. He was able to obtain account numbers, debit card numbers and security codes from several veterans. Williams then accessed the victims’ accounts and withdrew or transferred funds to their accounts, according to the indictment.
Young and Williams contacted about 30 hospitals, most run by VA, and spoke with about 60 victims in Tampa Bay and Bay Pines, Fla., and Reno, Nev., among other cities. All the people targeted were seriously ill veterans. Overall, Young and Williams attempted 130 fraudulent bank transactions. The scam came to the attention of investigators when one of the victims complained, Langlie says.
The VA Office of the Inspector General, which is investigating the case along with the Secret Service, declined to say whether there have been similar attempts to defraud VA medical center patients, citing the ongoing investigation.
Next steps Young and Williams face up to 20 years in prison on each of the conspiracy to commit wire fraud and the wire fraud charges. Aggravated identify theft carries a two-year prison sentence that is served after any other sentence imposed in the case, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
A December trial date in U.S. District Court in Seattle is likely to be postponed because Young faced charges of second degree burglary, harassment, second degree assault with a deadly weapon, attempted car theft and other alleged offenses prior to being indicted in the federal fraud case.
The dates of his military service and his discharge status were not available from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
- Veterans Healthcare