Murrysville Woman Indicted for Mail, Credit Card Fraud

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The grimy streets of Murrysville witnessed a federal charge today as Dawn Penzera-Lackey, 40, was indicted by a Pittsburgh grand jury on charges of mail fraud and credit card fraud.

The charges stem from two brazen schemes orchestrated by Penzera-Lackey. Her first crime occurred while employed at a local country club, where she swiped an $1800 check meant for a vendor, depositing it into her own account. She followed this with an audacious attempt to dupe the vendor by sending a fraudulent check from a long-closed account.

In her second offense, Penzera-Lackey targeted three credit cards belonging to friends of a small business. With these cards, she went on a spending spree, racking up over $16,000 in purchases for herself and her family.

These crimes carry severe penalties, with a maximum sentence of 20 years imprisonment per count of mail fraud and credit card fraud, a fine of $250,000, or both. Additionally, the aggravated identity theft counts carry a mandatory minimum two-year sentence.

Assistant United States Attorney Tonya Sulia Goodman is leading the government’s prosecution against Penzera-Lackey. The investigation was a collaborative effort between the U.S. Secret Service, Belle Acres Borough Police Department, and the Pennsylvania State Police, Belle Vernon Barracks.

The defendant, Dawn Penzera-Lackey, is presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.