Dory Sater, 45, of Drexel Hill, and Eric Stankiewicz, 35, of Secane, were charged with multiple counts of felony theft and related charges for their respective roles in a large-scale fraud, District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer said.
Sater, an attorney, was previously convicted in November 2020 following a jury trial of federal bank fraud and aggravated identity theft offenses. His license to practice law was suspended in October 2018.
An investigation was launched by the Clifton Heights Borough Police Department after receiving a theft report from Marple Avenue business CAPP/USA, authorities said.
An investigation found that Stankiewicz, a longtime employee of the business, made 30 fraudulent transactions from December 2019 to through March 2020, totaling $102,017.57, the DA's office said.
He then made 27 fraudulent payments from CAPP/USA to a business known as Esquire Specialty Parts, owned by Sater totaling $95,591, Stollsteimer's office said.
Further, transactions directed to the business known as Rhoads Vintage were directed to Stankiewicz himself, the DA said.
Using a different “Square Inc.” account, Sater then filtered $40,000 of the ill- gotten gains back to Stankiewicz, authorities said.
"Financial crimes result in increased prices and increased uncertainty for all business owners," the DA said.
"This crime is even more reprehensible given that defendant Sater is an attorney and has been recently prosecuted and convicted in a fraudulent financial scheme. It is clear that he needs to be stopped – and we hope to do so with the current charges."
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