Chad Bednarski, Bank and Wire Fraud Conspiracy, Pennsylvania 2023

Erie Man Sentenced to 32 Months in Prison for Bank and Wire Fraud Conspiracy

A resident of Erie, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to 32 months in jail, ordered to pay over $1.6 million in restitution and a $1,000 fine on his conviction of bank and wire fraud conspiracy, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.

United States District Judge Susan Paradise Baxter imposed the sentence on Chad Bednarski, 49, for his role in a scheme that caused a financial loss of more than $1.5 million.

According to information presented to the court, Chad Bednarski, as the finance manager of Lakeside Chevrolet, engaged in the following illegal activity between January 2015 and January 2019:

– Bednarski falsely reported vehicle sales to General Motors for vehicles that had not been sold in order to obtain expiring incentive rebates, and;

– Bednarski deliberately did not inform S&T Bank when Lakeside Chevrolet sold a vehicle that the dealership had purchased utilizing S&T Bank’s floor plan financing in order to delay and attempt to avoid the dealerships’ required payment to S&T Bank for the sold vehicles which had been purchased using S&T Bank’s floor plan financing.

Assistant United States Attorney Christian A. Trabold prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

United States Attorney Brady commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Pennsylvania State Police for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Bednarski.

The defendant will serve his 32-month sentence, pay over $1.6 million in restitution, and pay a $1,000 fine. The financial loss caused by Bednarski’s scheme was more than $1.5 million.

Related Federal Cases