Fayetteville man stole from older friend. Now the thief is going to federal prison

A Fayetteville man was sentenced last week to more than seven years in prison for draining an elderly friend’s bank accounts and stealing his pension and Social Security even after the victim died, according to a news release.

Brandon Scott Grimble, 43, pleaded guilty Aug. 19 in federal court in Raleigh to aggravated identity theft, wire fraud and wire fraud. Prosecutors say Grimble made off with more than $83,000 during the years-long scam. In exchange for the charges of theft of public funds and aiding and abetting theft; misuse of social security number, and aiding and abetting misuse; and three counts of bank fraud, and aiding and abetting the fraud, were dismissed.

After prison, Grimble will serve three years of probation, the filing states. U.S. District Judge Louise Wood Flanagan denied a defense motion to impose sentences for pending charges against Grimble after the federal sentence.

Facts of the case

The federal indictment states that in 2020, Grimble befriended a 68-year-old man, in poor physical and mental health, to gain access to his personal information, then stole the man’s government pension and Social Security benefits and stole more than $ 10,000 from his bank. accounts.

Grimble also opened bank accounts in the friend’s name, purchased vehicles and took out life insurance policies on him, according to a news release. When the man, identified in the documents only by initials, died in May 2022, Grimble posed as him and tried to apply for a $15,000 life insurance policy in his name and tried to open lines of credit for the house. victim, all of which were denied. , the report states.

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According to the indictment, Grimble also transferred money from the victim’s accounts through PayPal and CashApp, mostly to his girlfriend, who is also identified by initials in the police report.

Additionally, the indictment alleges, Grimble obtained power of attorney over the victim by forging the victim’s signature and signing Grimble’s girlfriend as a witness. He then gained access to the victim’s retirement accounts worth more than $10,000.

By February 2022, Grimble had emptied the account, the record said.

Even after the man died, Grimble collected the victim’s Social Security and retirement benefits and financed a 2014 Dodge Charger, according to the complaint.

“Fraudsters like Grimble are targeting our seniors in hopes of stealing pensions and Social Security and ruining their credit,” said U.S. Attorney Michael F. Easley Jr. “We will not stand by and watch this happen. Grimble and people like him will have a hard time because of their heartless crimes.”

Public safety journalist Joseph Pierre can be reached at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Fayetteville man was sentenced Friday to federal prison on fraud charges