United States of America v.Della Palestino

Huntington, West Virginia, criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with aggravated identity theft.

Della Palestino, 60, of Lexington, South Carolina, visited four financial institutions in the Southern District of West Virginia and used a different individual’s personal identifying information, including a forged signature, to access that individual’s bank account without the individual’s authorization. Palestino withdrew $2,125 in Huntington on August 23, 2026, $21,920 in Spencer on September 19, 2024, $4,200 in Charleston on September 26, 2024, and $9,400 in Gilbert on September 26, 2024. As part of her guilty plea, Palestino admitted that she conducted all four fraudulent transactions and withdrew a total of $37,645 from the bank accounts of the four individuals. Palestino further admitted that she used a counterfeit passport card during one of the fraudulent withdrawals.

The Defendant was found guilty and was sentenced to two years in prison, to be followed by one year of supervised release, and ordered to pay $47,010 in restitution.