Fake Robbery, Real Theft: 8 Months in Fed Pen

⏱ 2 min read

Nicole Hilstolsky, 48, of Swoyersville, Pennsylvania, is trading her freedom for eight months in a federal lockup. The reason? A bogus armed robbery she staged back in October 2018 to mask her theft of $16,247 from the WOD Federal Credit Union. Senior U.S. District Judge Robert D. Mariani dropped the hammer today, adding two years of supervised release to Hilstolsky’s sentence.

The scheme went down on October 15, 2018. Instead of a genuine stick-up, Hilstolsky helped herself to cash from the teller and the credit union safe. Then, she dialed 911, spinning a tale of masked gunmen. Cops responded, but the story quickly unraveled. Hilstolsky admitted she’d stashed the stolen loot inside the credit union for days before making off with it.

Turns out, Hilstolsky pled guilty in December 2025 to one count of theft by a credit union employee. The WOD Federal Credit Union, the victim in her scheme, is now defunct.

FBI agents and the Forty Fort Police Department did the legwork on the case, exposing the fraud. Assistant U.S. Attorney James M. Buchanan secured the conviction and sentence.