A statewide scheme targeting more than 200 senior citizens deceived into spending thousands of dollars for home care services they never received culminated in the arrests of four Philadelphia-area men, the state Attorney General said this morning.
The fraud spread across 41 Pennsylvania counties and three other states and investigators identified at least 218 victims, including seven in Allegheny County, one in Beaver, five in Butler, two in Washington and three in Westmoreland counties. The average age of the victims was 83, Attorney General Linda Kelly said.
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“This was a disturbing and despicable scheme designed to extract as much money as possible from unwitting seniors who believed they were protecting themselves against costly future home-care expenses,” Kelly said. “These con artists left a string of more than 200 victims stretching from Philadelphia to Erie and stole more than $700,000 through the sale of contracts for bogus home care services or stolen insurance premiums.”
Officials yesterday charged Bruce Howard Cherry, 52, of Philadelphia; Ross M. Rabelow, 52, of Bucks County; Thomas J. Muldoon, 57, of Delaware County and Robert P. Lerner, 56, of Philadelphia.
The four sold contracts for services – usually home health care and medical equipment – which they never provided, according to a state grand jury investigation. In one of the worst cases, Kelly said, the defendants stole more than $57,000 from one woman during a two-year period.
Cherry, Rabelow and Muldoon are charged with one count each of participating in a corrupt organization, eight counts of theft by failure to make required disposition of funds, one count of criminal conspiracy and 218 counts each of dealing in proceeds of unlawful activity, theft by deception, insurance fraud and deceptive business practices.
Lerner is charged with two counts of theft by failure to make required disposition of funds, one count of criminal conspiracy, one count of forgery, one count of theft by receiving stolen property and three counts each of dealing in proceeds of unlawful activity, theft by deception and insurance fraud.
