Federal jury convicts couple in $1.6M fraud against elderly, disabled, homeless

Some ‘clients’ were already dead, prosecutors told jury

A federal jury in Utica, New York convicted Jael Watts, 45, of New Jersey, and Luis Pino-Copete, 42, of Colombia, on Friday of orchestrating a fraud scheme that prosecutors said stole more than $1.6 million from federal programs intended for elderly, disabled and homeless people.

The pair operated through a shell company called Pearl Transit Corp., which claimed to employ drivers across the country who gave rides to elderly and disabled people and performed outreach services for the homeless, according to prosecutors. Between 2019 and 2025, Watts used stolen identities to create fake employment and customer records to seek reimbursements from federal programs. Prosecutors said the company sought more than $13 million in federal funds overall, and the couple ultimately received more than $1.6 million from programs in Georgia, California and North Carolina.

Prosecutors alleged that the shell company had no actual drivers and provided none of the services it claimed. Some of the people the company listed as having been transported were already dead, prosecutors said. Some of the supposed drivers did not have driver’s licenses and had never driven a car.

The defendants used the stolen funds to finance what prosecutors described as a lavish lifestyle, spending more than $100,000 on Porsche rentals and another $100,000 at luxury clothing store Loro Piana. They also traveled through Colombia, Aruba and Europe for nearly a year, prosecutors said.

In a separate facet of the scheme, the defendants claimed to provide free dentures to homeless people. Instead, prosecutors said, they printed the dentures at home using a 3-D printer and charged homeless people to scan their mouths and fit them.

The investigation began in 2024 after Watts sought nearly $750,000 from the New York State Department of Transportation. Auditors became suspicious of the invoices and referred the case to federal investigators. Watts was arrested in July 2025.

Prosecutors said Pino-Copete continued helping Watts create false documents after her arrest, including while she was being held in jail.

A federal jury in Utica convicted both defendants of wire fraud conspiracy, using false documents and aggravated identity theft. Watts was also convicted of five counts of wire fraud and making a false statement. They face between two and 20 years in prison and are scheduled to be sentenced in January.