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Owner of PA Restaurant Gets Prison Time For Defrauding COVID Programs: Authorities Owner of PA Restaurant Gets Prison Time For Defrauding COVID Programs: Authorities
Owner of PA Restaurant Gets Prison Time For Defrauding COVID Programs: Authorities The owner of a Montgomery County Italian restaurant is getting prison time for defrauding several federal COVID-19 relief programs, authorities said. Giuseppina “Josephine” Leone, 62, of North Wales, was sentenced to 21 months in prison and one year of supervised release on Tuesday, Oct. 22, the US Department of Justice said in a news release. She must also pay a $50,000 fine and a $300 special assessment for pandemic program fraud, the news release states. Leone has also paid full restitution in the amount of $972,861. Her request for a sentence involving an alternative to jail time was de…

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by Merriell Moyer
News
PA Judge Indicted For 31 Counts Of Fraud, Witness Tampering: USDOJ PA Judge Indicted For 31 Counts Of Fraud, Witness Tampering: USDOJ
PA Judge Indicted For 31 Counts Of Fraud, Witness Tampering: Usdoj A federal grand jury has indicted a Pennsylvania judge and lawyer on 31-counts of wire and mail fraud, as well as witness tampering and obstruction of justice, the US Department of Justice announced on Tuesday, Oct. 8.  Steven Stambaugh, age 61, of York, has been charged with twenty-six counts of wire fraud, two counts of mail fraud, two counts of tampering with a witness, and one count of obstruction of justice for a COVID-19 scheme, according to United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam explained.  Stambaugh is accused of defrauding the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania "to ob…

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by Jillian Pikora
News
NJ, NY Stolen Cars Shipped Overseas From PA Chop Shop: DA NJ, NY Stolen Cars Shipped Overseas From PA Chop Shop: DA
NJ, NY Stolen Cars Shipped Overseas From PA Chop Shop: DA Stacks of car parts being shipped to the Dominican Republic from a Chop Shop has lead to six arrest, the Buck County District Attorney's Office announced on Monday, Oct. 7.  A Pennsylvania State Police investigation lead to the dismantling of a Milford Township chop shop run out of a garage located at 2150 Rosedale Road, as detailed in the release.  Hundreds of thousands of dollars in stolen parts were sold and shipped to the Dominican Republic from the shop, according to the release. The following men were charged in connection to the illegal sale of the stole car parts fro…

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by Jillian Pikora
News
$100K+ Allegedly Stolen By Former PA Attorney General Director $100K+ Allegedly Stolen By Former PA Attorney General Director
$100K+ Allegedly Stolen By Former PA Attorney General Director A McKeesport Area School District police chief, Director of the Community Violence Fund program for the McKeesport Chapter of the NAACP, and Regional Director of the PA Office of Attorney General’s Region 5 Bureau of Narcotics Investigation is accused of stealing over $100,000 drug forfeiture money and numerous over monetary thefts, the Westmoreland County District Attorney's Office announced on Thursday night, Sept. 5.  Brenda D. Sawyer, 61, of North Versailles, was arrested on the following charges on Sept. 5 for her alleged crimes of taking the money which went missing from…

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by Jillian Pikora
Police & Fire
Western PA Man Convicted For Fake 'Kidnapping For Drugs' Plot: DA Western PA Man Convicted For Fake 'Kidnapping For Drugs' Plot: DA
Western PA Man Convicted For Fake 'Kidnapping For Drugs' Plot: DA A McKean County man was convicted on Friday, Aug. 23 in a fake "kidnapping for drugs" plot, authorities said. Tuesday Hale, formerly of Bradford, was found guilty of crimes related to the staged kidnapping in August 2023, according to District Attorney Stephanie Vettenburg-Shaffer. The conviction followed a two-day jury trial at the McKean County Courthouse, she said. Hale was charged after the City of Bradford Police received a report from a Bradford man who had received messages – including a staged picture – from his girlfriend’s cell phone stating that his girlfriend had been kidn…

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by Jon Craig
News
Caretaker Steals $4.5K From Elderly Woman, Berks DA Alleges Caretaker Steals $4.5K From Elderly Woman, Berks DA Alleges
Caretaker Steals $4.5K From Elderly Woman, Berks DA Alleges A 46-year-old woman from Reading is charged with making more than 80 unauthorized purchases on the bank cards of an elderly woman whom she cared for, authorities said. Jennifer Konen is accused of stealing nearly $4,500 by making the transactions using a 78-year-old woman's banking information, according to the Berks County District Attorney. Konen was the woman's healthcare provider. In April, Berks County District Attorney’s detectives initiated a criminal investigation into allegations involving exploitation and fraud involving the senior citizen. It was reported that numerous&…

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by Jon Craig
News
$1.5M Con: Ex-Employee Admits Defrauding CT Insurance Company $1.5M Con: Ex-Employee Admits Defrauding CT Insurance Company
$1.5M Con: Ex-Employee Admits Defrauding CT Insurance Company A former employee from Pennsylvania admitted to defrauding a Connecticut insurance company to the tune of $1.5 million. James Keating, age 52, of Paoli, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty to wire fraud in New Haven federal court on Tuesday, July 30. Prosecutors said Keating – who served as assistant vice president and a surety bond claims handler at Hartford County-based Allied World Insurance Company in Farmington – created a shell company to bill Allied World for unnecessary claims work that was never performed. Between 2017 and 2021, he also solicited and received kickbacks from Allied World…

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by Michael Mashburn
News
Philly Area Gravestone Salesman Scammed Mourners Out Of $1.5 Million, Feds Say Philly Area Gravestone Salesman Scammed Mourners Out Of $1.5 Million, Feds Say
Philly Area Gravestone Salesman Scammed Mourners Out Of $1.5 Million, Feds Say The owner of a headstone company is accused of ripping off hundreds of grieving customers across greater Philadelphia, federal prosecutors allege in an indictment.  Gregory J. Stefan Jr., 54, of Upper Merion, is charged with seven counts of wire fraud, according to the US Attorney's Office.  Between January 2018 and September of last year, Stefan accepted more than $1.5 million from customers who ordered memorials for loved ones, then failed to deliver the headstones they bought, authorities said. Stefan accepted the orders from nearly 500 customers through his companies 1843 LLC…

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by Mac Bullock
News
PA Gravestone Thief's Brother Bilked NJ Widow Out Of $5,000, Indictment Says PA Gravestone Thief's Brother Bilked NJ Widow Out Of $5,000, Indictment Says
PA Gravestone Thief's Brother Bilked NJ Widow Out Of $5,000, Indictment Says Another New Jersey widow has come forward alleging she was bilked out of money for a gravestone she never got. Jerry J. Stefan, 49, of Gladwyne, PA, has been indicted alleging he bilked a Deptford, NJ widow out of $5,054 for a gravestone she never received for her late husband. He's the brother of a Pennsylvania gravestone dealer already charged in three states with defrauding gravestone customers. A Gloucester County grand jury indicted Jerry J. Stefan on June 26 on a charge he never provided a gravestone or returned the money he took. He was indicted on a third-degree charge of failure t…

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by Jon Craig
News
Philly Woman Stole $184K In COVID Relief Money For Butt Lift: Warrant Philly Woman Stole $184K In COVID Relief Money For Butt Lift: Warrant
Philly Woman Stole $184K In COVID Relief Money For Butt Lift: Warrant A Philadelphia woman is accused of fraudulently cashing a COVID-19 relief check and spending the money on plastic surgery.  In an arrest warrant obtained by Local10.com, authorities said 30-year-old Ashley Stibbins-Parker made a bank account for a Georgia entity called "City of Weston LLC.''  Investigators believe she used the account to collect $184,838.72 in federal CARES Act funding meant for the real City of Weston in Florida.  Broward County commissioners sent the money to Weston City Hall via check in February 2021, but by the next month, it had been deposited into Sti…

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by Mac Bullock