Ex Federal Prosecutor Admits Identity Theft Tied To Online Gambling Accounts

A former federal prosecutor in West Virginia has pleaded guilty to identity theft after prosecutors said she used stolen identities to open and profit from online gambling accounts.

Good to Know

• Monica Dillon pleaded guilty to five counts of identity theft.
• Prosecutors said the conduct ran from January 2021 to January 2023.
• No online gambling or sports betting company was named in the case.

US District Judge Kenneth E. Bell approved the guilty plea and pretrial diversion agreement on Tuesday. Bell, a judge from North Carolina, handled the case because Dillon spent nearly 20 years as an assistant US attorney in the Southern District of West Virginia.

Under the agreement, Dillon avoids prison and must serve two years of probation through the US Probation Office. Without the deal, the charges carried a possible 20-year prison sentence and a $500,000 fine.

Gambling Accounts At Center Of Fraud Case

Prosecutors said Dillon used five stolen identities to gamble online between January 2021 and January 2023. She made at least $1,000 from three victim accounts, according to a fact sheet filed on April 22.

Her restitution requirement is narrower. The plea agreement requires Dillon to pay $30,000 to one person, listed as “Victim 1.”

Both online casino gambling and mobile sports betting are legal in West Virginia. Still, no licensed operator was named in the case, and a spokesman for the US Attorney office in the Southern District declined comment to iGB.

The case carries an unusual angle because Dillon worked in law enforcement and government service for much of her career. Her LinkedIn profile says she advised the Federal Bureau of Prisons for three years before serving as an attorney in the Southern District from 2005 to 2025.

Dillon also worked as deputy chief for the district white collar fraud team from 2021 to 2024. In that role, she said she led eight attorneys handling white collar fraud, health care fraud, environmental, tax, and civil rights prosecutions.

Her West Virginia law licence was annulled by voluntary consent in January 2025 after the Office of Lawyer Disciplinary Counsel filed a petition in December 2024. Legal Newsline reported that the rule used for that petition works much like a plea deal, with Dillon acknowledging an investigation and potential charges she could not defend against.

The case file does not explain how Dillon obtained the identities or why she used them for gambling accounts. She filed for bankruptcy in 2022, and Legal Newsline reported that case remains pending in federal court.

In the plea agreement, Dillon also gave up her right to withdraw the plea if her sentence came in higher than expected. She conceded there was a “substantial likelihood” that incarceration could follow.

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