An ex-wife was busted for fraud and grand theft after stealing retirement money in Florida.
Robin Joanna Bell, a 58-year-old resident of Inverness, was found guilty of Grand Theft over 100,000, two counts of Fraudulent Use of Personal Identification Information, Witness Tampering, and Forgery of a Public Record. The trial followed a series of legal troubles that escalated, culminating in her additional charge of tampering with a witness.
“Theft, particularly when it’s from someone who was once close to you, can be devastating. Let this serve as a reminder that cheating, stealing and deceiving victims, for your benefit, will not go unchecked in Citrus County,” said Fifth Judicial Circuit State Attorney Bill Gladson. “Protecting our most vulnerable population is a top priority for this office.”
Back in July of 2021, the victim reported to the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office that their ex-wife, Bell, had committed fraud by filing forged documents to obtain retirement benefits against a court order. In 2015, when the victim and Bell were finalizing their divorce, Bell requested half of the victim’s retirement since the victim was currently retired. At the time, Bell was not retired, however, the victim was and was currently receiving benefits.
The victim agreed to the request, only on the premise that they would then also receive half of Bell’s retirement when she officially retires. A Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) was filed and the judge finalized the terms, with each legally entitled to half the retirement of the other party. With this new court order, Bell began to receive half of the retirement benefits of the victim.
By December 2020, the victim received notice that Bell had retired. As a result, the victim contacted the Florida Retirement System (FRS) to begin receiving half of the benefits. To their surprise, they were informed that FRS had received a document with the victim’s signature on it, signing over all rights to the account to Bell. Additionally, there was another document provided by Bell to FRS for the same purpose, that was not notarized but did have a witness signature. The victim then contacted law enforcement to file a report.
CCSO Detective Thomas Dowling was assigned the case, spoke with the victim and reviewed all the provided documents supporting the victim’s claim. Det. Dowling was then able to view the forged document and met up with the notary on the notary stamp of the fraudulent document. The notary indicated they had never notarized the document for Bell and believed it to be a fake document.
Det. Dowling then attempted to make contact with Bell, who advised the official would need to speak with her attorney. After not hearing from Bell or her attorney, and being unable to locate the witness of the forged document, Det. Dowling contacted Agent Bruce Arnold of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for assistance. After a little over a month, Agent Arnold was able to locate the witness, who agreed to meet up for an interview.
During the interview, the witness indicated they had never seen nor signed the document provided to FRS by Bell. Probable cause was established, and a warrant was issued for Bell’s arrest. On January 1, 2023, CCSO deputies made contact with Bell and placed her under arrest for the charges.
While out on bond, Bell attempted to have the victim drop the charges and was subsequently charged with tampering. This case was successfully prosecuted by Assistant State Attorneys Patsey Jacobs and Tara Hartman.
