Daughter swiped $75K from dead mother's estate, prosecutor says

MOONACHIE - A borough woman was arrested Monday after investigators determined she misappropriated and spent $75,000 in death benefits left by her mother for two other heirs, authorities said.

Lydia Ratchinsky (BCPO)

Lydia Ratchinsky, 46, was named a fiduciary and executrix of her late mother's estate, which was valued at more than $400,000 in 2014, according to Bergen County Prosecutor Gurbir S. Grewal.

The estate was to be equally distributed to numerous heirs, including two who were to receive money when they turned 21, Grewal said in a statement.

The prosecutor did not name the heirs or describe their relationship to Ratchinsky's mother.

"In 2016, when one of the remaining shares of the will was to be distributed, it was determined that there were insufficient funds in the account which held the trust," Grewal said.

An audit of the trust account revealed that more than $75,000 had been removed and spent by Ratchinsky "in violation of her duties as a fiduciary," Grewal said.

Ratchinsky was arrested in Paramus and charged with misapplication of entrusted property, Grewal said.

A first appearance was set for 8:30 a.m. Feb. 22 in Central Judicial Processing Court in Hackensack, Grewal said.

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Daughter swiped $75K from dead mother's estate, prosecutor says