Pastor accused of cashing dead teacher’s pension checks

New York – A New York pastor has been arrested and accused of fraudulently cashing pension checks worth nearly a quarter-million dollars sent to a school teacher who died more than a decade ago. Rev. Victor Rosa was accused of deceiving New York City’s Teacher Retirement System into thinking that teacher Maria Sicardo was still alive and had her checks sent to a building he owns in the Bronx. He would cash the checks, which amounted to about $241,000, often at a local bank. Investigators said they interviewed bank staff, who recalled Rosa often preached about God to other customers while waiting in line.  more