West Virginia Ex-Prosecutor Pleads Guilty to ID Theft

A former federal prosecutor in southern West Virginia, Monica Dillon, has pleaded guilty to multiple counts of identity theft after using victims’ personal information to fund online gambling accounts. Dillon, who spent nearly two decades in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia, admitted to stealing names, Social Security numbers, and dates of birth from five individuals between January 2021 and January 2023.

The complaint filed in federal court details that Dillon opened and operated online gambling accounts in the names of these victims and conducted financial transactions through the accounts. Prosecutors said the scheme netted her thousands of dollars in winnings. Each of the five felony counts corresponds to a separate victim and violates federal identity theft laws.

Pretrial Diversion Avoids Prison

According to WCHC, under a pretrial diversion agreement approved by U.S. District Judge Kenneth E. Bell of the Western District of North Carolina, Dillon will avoid prison. The agreement stipulates 24 months of supervision by the U.S. Probation Office and requires her to pay at least $30,000 in restitution to one of the victims. If Dillon successfully completes this period, all charges will be dismissed.

Dillon’s plea agreement highlights a striking irony: she spent her career investigating and prosecuting white-collar crime, including health care fraud, civil rights violations, and environmental crimes, before committing fraud herself. From 2021 to 2024, she served as deputy chief of the district’s white-collar fraud unit, leading a team of eight attorneys. Prior to her role as a federal prosecutor, she also held positions with the Federal Bureau of Prisons and as a federal judicial law clerk.

Professional License Relinquished

West Virginia is one of eight states where online casinos and mobile sports betting are legal, and the complaint does not specify which platforms Dillon used. Her law license had already been annulled in January 2025 through voluntary consent following an investigation initiated in December 2024. The disbarment effectively acknowledged her exposure to potential criminal charges she could not contest.

The plea agreement also requires Dillon to relinquish the right to withdraw her plea, even if the sentence exceeds her expectations, underscoring the serious legal risks of identity theft. Despite the potential penalties—up to 20 years in prison and fines reaching $500,000—Dillon will serve no jail time under the terms of the diversion program.

Legal experts note that Dillon’s case is unusual in the realm of gambling-related fraud. Over the last decade, integrity scandals in the U.S. gambling sector have expanded to involve athletes, casinos, soldiers, lawmakers, and other stakeholders. Dillon’s case represents a rare instance of a law enforcement professional violating the very laws she once enforced.

Comparative cases highlight the potential scale of such schemes. Earlier this year, two men in Connecticut were indicted for a much larger operation, stealing over 3,000 identities to fund online gambling accounts, netting approximately $3 million and facing dozens of charges. In this context, Dillon’s sentence, which focuses on probation and restitution, underscores the unique nature of prosecuting former legal officials.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia has not released further comment on the plea deal, leaving Dillon’s restitution and supervision as the key outcomes of the case.