Overview

• Former Bronx hospital clerk Wilkins Estrella pleaded guilty on August 6 to conspiracy to commit wire and bank fraud and to wrongfully disclosing protected health information, and Charlene Marte entered her plea to the fraud charges on July 28.
• Investigators say the pair misused personal data — including names and Social Security numbers of at least 4,005 patients — to submit false claims for stimulus checks, IRS tax refunds and state unemployment benefits between 2020 and 2022.
• They opened hundreds of debit card accounts in victims’ names to receive the illicit funds and secured almost $1 million in payouts from an attempted $1.6 million fraud scheme.
• Each defendant has agreed to forfeit and restitute $951,618.20 and will face sentencing in November and December 2025 before U.S. District Judge Gregory H. Woods.
• The case was brought by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York with support from the FBI’s New York office and the Department of Labor Office of Inspector General.