Sewickley Woman Sentenced for Bank Fraud Involving Guardianship Agency Funds

For Immediate Release

U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Pennsylvania

PITTSBURGH, Pa. - A resident of Sewickley, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to two months of imprisonment, to be followed by two years of supervised release, on her conviction of bank fraud, United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced today.

Senior United States District Judge Nora Barry Fischer imposed the sentence on Judith A. Hetzell, 64, on October 13, 2026, also ordering the defendant to pay $80,966 in restitution to her former employer.

According to information presented to the Court, between November 2023 and February 2025, Hetzell, the former business manager for a non-profit guardianship agency based in the Western District of Pennsylvania, fraudulently drafted checks against individuals’ bank accounts to which the agency had access as a provider of guardianship and other fiduciary services to the victims. The checks were drafted to cash and to Hetzell’s mother and deposited into two personal bank accounts that Hetzell controlled.

Prior to imposing the sentence, Judge Fischer stated that, while Hetzell had otherwise lived a law-abiding life, her criminal conduct was quite serious in that she stole funds from the accounts of vulnerable individuals who, for various physical and mental health reasons, required the services of a guardianship agency. Judge Fischer also observed that Hetzell’s conduct risked the viability of the agency for whom she worked.

First Assistant United States Attorney Carolyn J. Bloch prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

United States Attorney Rivetti commended the United States Postal Inspection Service for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Hetzell. 

Source:
Sewickley Woman Sentenced for Bank Fraud Involving Guardianship Agency Funds 

Harrison County Clerk arrested, charged with stealing more than $125,000 from elderly woman

by JoBeth Davis 

BETHANY, Mo. — The Missouri State Highway Patrol says Lee Ann M. Miles, the Harrison County Clerk, has been arrested and charged after an investigation into theft and fraud allegations.

According to a release from MSHP, the Bethany Police Department contacted the highway patrol's Division of Drug and Crime Control to investigate allegations of theft involving the Harrison County Clerk.

During the course of that investigation over the next several months, authorities said they discovered Lee Ann M. Miles, 46, had been entrusted or hired to oversee an elderly person's financial responsibilities.

Probable cause documents in the case state Miles was hired to pay rent, lawn care, house cleaning, medical and tax bills in addition to other tasks for an individual over the age of 60.

For her services, the victim agreed to pay Miles $300 per month.

After noticing discrepancies in her financial records, the victim requested her full bank account statements and discovered her bank account balances were very low.

Investigators discovered that from November 2023 through July 2026, Miles reportedly made more than 500 transactions from the victim's account into her own account.

Authorities noted transfers to Miles' accounts for payments to Ford Motor Credit, along with a storage unit, which the victim said was not hers. Transfers were found for other items like a Walt Disney World trip.

Detectives noted all the transfers to Miles' accounts were in familiar dollar amounts that the victim would recognize, such as what one of her other bills would cost. But sometimes those transfers were made multiple times a month, and even multiple times on the same day. After analyzing the transfers reportedly made by Miles and comparing them with the victim's actual bills, authorities said more than $125,000 could not be accounted for.

The victim also received notice that her quarterly taxes had not been paid. However, the victim told authorities Miles said they'd been taken care of.

Miles was charged with one count of stealing ($25,000 or more) and one count of financial exploitation of an elderly/disabled person.

When questioned by police, Miles told authorities she had originally requested payment of $25 per day from the victim for her services, but the victim said she couldn't afford that amount and instead offered $300 per month. Miles told police that she never had a written agreement with the victim, and the additional transfers were "backpay" to catch up on the amount the victim owed. Miles admitted she did not inform the victim of that increase.

The victim also said a 1099 form the victim filled out for tax purposes every year only reflected the $300 per month amount as compensation.

Miles told authorities she estimated that the victim owed her $118,000, a number she estimated from her memory. She said her computer that contained the Excel spreadsheet detailing what she was owed crashed. When authorities told Miles that she had transferred more than $200,000 to her account during that time, she said she may have made an error in her estimations.

Miles is currently being held at the Daviess/DeKalb Regional Jail without bond. 

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Harrison County Clerk arrested, charged with stealing more than $125,000 from elderly woman