Chicago transit employee tried to steal $357K from pension fund

A former CTA clerk was indicted on five counts of wire fraud for allegedly creating and approving 43 fraudulent benefit requests.

Ayanna Nesbitt, 50, a former Chicago Transportation Authority employee, was charged with defrauding $356,934 from the agency’s pension fund through fake beneficiaries.

She was indicted on five counts of wire fraud for allegedly creating and approving 43 fraudulent requests for death benefit payments and refunds on contributions.

The benefit requests contained inaccurate representations of the recipients’ identities and entitlement to the payments, according to the indictment.

Federal charges state Nesbitt wired the fraudulent payments into her bank account and those of relatives for personal expenses between March 2019 and September 2021. Each count of wire fraud is punishable by a maximum of 20 years in prison.

Attorneys representing Nesbitt could not be immediately reached for comment. Nesbitt’s arraignment is scheduled for Dec. 8 before U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly.

Chicago ranks as the country’s most corrupt city and Illinois as the second-most corrupt state in the nation. This corruption comes with a heavy price tag for the state economy – costing Illinoisans more than $550 million in foregone economic activity per year.

Not only does this cost all Illinois taxpayers, but it also shakes residents’ faith in state and local politicians. The ongoing federal corruption probes are a reminder Illinois has a lot of work ahead to undo the political culture that incentivizes corruption.