Fake Robbery, Real Jail Time

⏱ 2 min read

Nicole Hilstolsky, 48, of Swoyersville, Pennsylvania is trading her freedom for eight months in a federal lockup after a pathetic attempt to cover up a $16,247 theft from the WOD Federal Credit Union. Back on October 15, 2018, Hilstolsky didn’t get robbed – she did the robbing, then dialed 911 with a fabricated story of armed bandits to muddy the waters. It didn’t work.

Hilstolsky copped to the scheme in December, admitting she’d swiped the cash from both the teller and the credit union’s safe. Instead of facing the music, she concocted the fake robbery, even hiding the stolen money *inside* the building itself, planning to retrieve it later. A slick plan? Hardly.

FBI agents and the Forty Fort Police Department quickly saw through the charade, peeling back the layers of Hilstolsky’s lie. The now-defunct WOD Federal Credit Union became the backdrop for a desperate, failed attempt at deception.

Senior U.S. District Judge Robert D. Mariani wasn’t buying it. He handed down the eight-month sentence today, along with two years of supervised release to follow. Assistant U.S. Attorney James M. Buchanan prosecuted the case. Consider it a lesson learned – lying to the feds rarely pays.