ALBANY — A Rensselaer woman was arraigned Friday in U.S. District Court on a federal indictment charging her with stealing nearly $670,000 in Social Security and pension checks by signing her deceased mother-in-law’s name over the years following her death in 2009.
The alleged scheme by Kimberly Cardella, 59, cost the Social Security Administration more than $530,000 and the New York State and Local Retirement System more than $138,000, according to federal prosecutors. Neither agency had been notified that Cardella’s mother-in-law had died.
The federal indictment of Cardella was handed up on Sept. 4. It’s unclear if she was released Friday after making her initial appearance in federal court before U.S. Magistrate Daniel J. Stewart…