woodco
12-13-2002, 11:46 PM
They may be old and frail ...... But they still can be sneaky !!!! :eek:
FLEMINGTON -- A Bucks County man pleaded guilty Wednesday to charges he bilked vacationers out of more than $24,000 in a real estate scam.
William W. McCandless, 68, of Newtown, Pa., is expected to be sentenced to probation and pay $13,000 restitution as a result of a plea deal with the Hunterdon County Prosecutor's Office. He pleaded guilty to a single charge of theft by deception. He was initially charged with five counts of third-degree theft by deception, two counts of fourth-degree theft by deception, five counts of third-degree attempted theft by deception, 12 counts of third-degree forgery and one count of third-degree wrongful impersonation.
McCandless' arrest in December 2001 followed a joint investigation by the Hunterdon County Prosecutor's Office and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the law enforcement branch of the U.S. Postal Service.
Authorities say McCandless used the assumed name Brett Englebreth to open a fraudulent bank account and post office box. He then allegedly placed advertisements with photographs and descriptions of vacation properties for rent.
The victims, none of whom were from Hunterdon County, sent payments of between $500 and $4,000 to McCandless to rent the properties, authorities said. When the victims arrived at the vacation homes they found they were privately owned or did not exist at all
FLEMINGTON -- A Bucks County man pleaded guilty Wednesday to charges he bilked vacationers out of more than $24,000 in a real estate scam.
William W. McCandless, 68, of Newtown, Pa., is expected to be sentenced to probation and pay $13,000 restitution as a result of a plea deal with the Hunterdon County Prosecutor's Office. He pleaded guilty to a single charge of theft by deception. He was initially charged with five counts of third-degree theft by deception, two counts of fourth-degree theft by deception, five counts of third-degree attempted theft by deception, 12 counts of third-degree forgery and one count of third-degree wrongful impersonation.
McCandless' arrest in December 2001 followed a joint investigation by the Hunterdon County Prosecutor's Office and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the law enforcement branch of the U.S. Postal Service.
Authorities say McCandless used the assumed name Brett Englebreth to open a fraudulent bank account and post office box. He then allegedly placed advertisements with photographs and descriptions of vacation properties for rent.
The victims, none of whom were from Hunterdon County, sent payments of between $500 and $4,000 to McCandless to rent the properties, authorities said. When the victims arrived at the vacation homes they found they were privately owned or did not exist at all