Ex-Scranton School Fleet Manager Cops to $53K Fraud

Scranton School District’s former fleet manager, Daniel Sansky, 67, is facing first-degree felony charges after allegedly ripping off the district for over $53,000 in a years-long scheme involving ghost repairs, personal vehicle maintenance, and unauthorized school vehicle sales. The charges stem from a statewide grand jury investigation that exposed a web of fraudulent billing through Sansky’s auto shop, Danny’s Auto Service, between 2005 and 2017.

Sansky, of Cortez Road in Jefferson Township, is accused of submitting inflated and duplicate invoices for work never performed — including the jaw-dropping claim that 114 tires were replaced on a single garbage truck over 40 months. Records show he billed the district for eight new tires on May 15, 2017, then filed another invoice three days later claiming he’d replaced those same eight tires again — with no receipts found to prove any tires were ever purchased.

Investigators, working with the Pennsylvania State Police, discovered Sansky routinely billed the district for repairs on personal vehicles belonging to at least a dozen school employees and their family members. In 38 separate instances, work on the co-conspirator’s personal cars or those of his relatives was charged directly to the district. Invoices from 2009 to 2017 show the district paid Sansky a staggering $785,195 — much of it without oversight, as the invoices bypassed required approval by the Chief Operations Officer.

Even more brazen, Sansky allegedly sold four district-owned vehicles without authorization — with no record of the district receiving payment. A fifth district vehicle was found parked in a secured lot behind his auto shop during a May search warrant execution, missing from the official fleet list of 28 vehicles. The lack of documentation and chain of custody suggests a total breakdown of accountability under his watch.

Attorney General Josh Shapiro, announcing the charges on September 18, 2018, called the scheme a betrayal of public trust. “This individual took advantage of the trust placed in him as a district official and allegedly defrauded the Scranton School District of hundreds of thousands of dollars,” Shapiro said. “No one is above the law.” The investigation remains active, with Shapiro vowing more accountability to come.

Sansky now faces charges including corrupt organizations, dealing in unlawful proceeds, criminal conspiracy, and multiple felony counts tied to financial fraud. The case highlights systemic vulnerabilities in public school procurement systems and serves as a stark warning: when oversight goes dark, corruption thrives — and the taxpayers pay the price.