BECKLEY, W.Va. – Timothy Gross, 39, of Beckley, pleaded guilty today to wire fraud, admitting to making a fraudulent payment with an employer-issued credit card as part of a scheme to divert more than $65,000 in credit card charges to his personal bank account. According to court documents and statements made in court, Gross was hired by Amerihost LLC in 2020 as a maintenance worker for Beckley Town Homes, a multi-unit apartment building in…

PORTLAND, Maine: A Berwick woman was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Portland for Social Security fraud and theft of public money. Chief U.S. District Judge Jon D. Levy sentenced Andreanna Politano, 60, to three years of probation. She was also ordered to pay $49,976.38 in restitution to the Social Security Administration (SSA) and $9,164.00 in restitution to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).…

BECKLEY, W.Va. Laquenta Lowe, 45, of Beckley, pleaded guilty today to conversion of public money exceeding $1,000. Lowe admitted to stealing at least $7,978.91 in federal funds while employed by the Raleigh County Housing Authority (RCHA). According to court documents and statements made in court, Lowe was chief financial officer and accountant for the RCHA from July 1, 2018 through May 31, 2019. Lowe was executive director of the RCHA from…

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Pamela McDaniel, 68, of Charleston, pleaded guilty today to alteration of a postal money order, and admitted she used her position at the Charleston-Kanawha Housing Authority (CKHA) to obtain the money order and embezzle more than $28,000. According to court documents and statements made in court, McDaniel had been employed by CKHA since 2006 and was serving as a housing manager in 2018. As a housing manager, McDaniel’s…

PORTLAND, Maine: A Berwick woman pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Portland to Social Security fraud and theft of public money, U.S. Attorney Darcie N. McElwee announced. According to court records, from about March 2009 to February 2020, Andreanna Politano, 59, concealed the presence of her husband in her household to maintain her eligibility to receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments. SSI benefits are paid…