A man who now resides in Ohio is accused of stealing nearly $280,000 from his wife over several years through various means, including taking money from her retirement account, opening and using credit cards in her name and forging checks, according to Ross police.

Ross police charged Roy Lee Smith Jr., 44, of Beaver Township in Mahoning County with seven felony counts of access device fraud, five counts of identity theft and one count of theft.

According to a criminal complaint, Smith signed a notarized document accepting responsibility for all of the debt he accrued and wrote a letter to his wife explaining how he was going to pay it off.

Smith and his wife, who lives and owns a business in Ross, were married in September 2014, and she filed for divorce at the end of 2025, the complaint states. The divorce case, which began in Allegheny County in November, is still in process, according to court records.

Police said the woman first reported the offenses to police on Jan. 14. She provided extensive bank records, and police have been meeting with her over five months to obtain more information and bank records. Police interviewed Smith on May 7.

According to the criminal complaint, Smith:

• Admitted to withdrawing $69,051 from her 401(k) retirement funds over 2022 to 2023.

• Opened a PayPal credit card in her name. The card had a balance over $4,000, and Smith has been making payments on the account.

• Transferred more than $20,000 from her Citizens Bank account to his own account.

• Obtained six business loans from her Square business account totaling $53,650 from December 2021 to January 2025.

• Opened accounts at Huntington Bank and First National Bank using her information.

• Forged 61 checks in her name and wrote the checks to himself from her PNC Bank account, totaling $28,215 from January 2020 to October 2025. Police said Smith admitted to doing this, but suggested it was for legitimate purchases and authorized by his wife.

• Forged 31 checks in her name from the Citizens Bank business account, totaling $7,767, from June 2023 to October 2024.

• Used her Citi credit card for purchases exceeding $20,000 over the course of 2024.

• Used her information to open a Bank of America credit card, which had an outstanding balance exceeding $6,000.

• Over the course of 2024, made a large number of purchases from her Citizens business account in excess of $28,000.

• Used her Bank of America credit card over the course of 2024 and 2025 for purchases exceeding $20,000.

• Used her Sam’s Club credit card from 2020 to 2024 for purchases exceeding $20,000.

Police requested a summons be issued for the charges because they have been in contact with Smith and his attorney and believe he will appear in court, the complaint states. It also states that Smith has no prior arrest history.

Smith’s attorney was not named in court records.

Court records showed a preliminary hearing scheduled for July 29.