ROCHESTER, N.Y.– A Rochester man who moved nearly $2 million in fraud proceeds through accounts at Evolve Federal Credit Union and HSBC after processing unauthorized credit card transactions has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
The DOJ said Timothy Wadsworth, 35, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci Jr. to charges carrying a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
According to the Department of Justice, between March 2020 and September 2021, Wadsworth conspired with others to fraudulently obtain money through multiple schemes, including unauthorized credit card transactions, COVID-era relief fraud, unemployment fraud and romance scams.
Hundreds of Payments
Federal prosecutors said Wadsworth obtained credit card account numbers from co-conspirators and used them to process unauthorized transactions through a Stripe Inc. merchant account. The DOJ said Wadsworth attempted to process 310 payments totaling approximately $1.67 million between March 10 and May 15, 2020. Of those, 116 transactions totaling approximately $730,728 were initially successful, prosecutors said.
The DOJ alleged the transactions were unauthorized and that cardholders did not approve the charges.
Funds Transferred to CU, Bank
After processing the payments, Wadsworth transferred funds from his Stripe account into personal accounts at HSBC and Evolve Federal Credit Union, according to prosecutors. The money was then transferred to a Coinbase account, where Bitcoin was purchased and sent to external cryptocurrency addresses.
Federal prosecutors cited multiple transfers exceeding $10,000, including three transfers between April 22 and April 28, 2020, totaling more than $148,000 into an HSBC account.
Prosecutors also said Wadsworth and others submitted nine fraudulent Economic Injury Disaster Loan applications between May 2020 and May 2021. Prosecutors said the applications contained false statements about business revenue and operations to secure pandemic-relief funds.
According to the DOJ, three EIDL applications were approved, resulting in $161,200 being deposited into Wadsworth’s bank accounts.
PPP Loan Fraud & More
In addition, prosecutors said Wadsworth applied for six Paycheck Protection Program loans totaling $91,219 between March and April 2021. Two loans totaling more than $41,000 were funded after applications allegedly contained false information about the businesses involved.
The DOJ further alleged that from May 2020 through September 2021, Wadsworth fraudulently received approximately $65,896 in unemployment benefits from New York state, Washington state and the U.S. Department of Labor, despite being ineligible for the benefits.
Federal prosecutors also accused Wadsworth of participating in a romance fraud scheme in 2020 in which a recently widowed victim was convinced by an individual posing as an oil rig worker on Facebook to send $42,000 for purported travel expenses. The victim wired the money to Wadsworth’s bank account on March 20, 2020, according to the DOJ.
The Department of Justice said Wadsworth additionally defrauded six other victims out of approximately $26,000.
Prosecutors estimated the combined actual and intended losses from the various fraud schemes at approximately $2.06 million.
Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 10, 2026.
Sentencing in CU Fraud Case
Separately, in Jacksonville, Fla., Abigail Payton, 30, of Kentucky has been sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge Marcia Morales Howard to three years and six months in federal prison for aggravated identity theft and bank fraud. Payton pleaded guilty on Nov. 13, 2025, according to U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe.
According to court documents, Payton obtained the personal identifying information, including Social Security numbers, of at least four victims. She then used fraudulent driver licenses containing the victims’ personal information—but with Payton’s photo—to open checking accounts at credit unions in Jacksonville and Fort Lauderdale, including Community First Credit Union.
Payton applied for loans in two of the victims’ names and spent more than $38,000 of the proceeds. She also wrote checks to herself from accounts she had opened in two other victims’ names. Payton also opened accounts at other banking institutions under separate victims’ names, causing an additional $35,000 in loss, according to prosecutors.
Arrested in Kentucky
In May 2024, Payton was stopped by law enforcement in Kentucky. During that encounter, officers located blank checks issued in additional victims’ names as well as a cellphone with photos of fraudulent driver licenses containing Payton’s photo, but personal information belonging to others.
