Tag: scranton
Fake Robbery, Real Theft: 8 Months in Fed Lockup
⏱ 2 min read Nicole Hilstolsky, 48, of Swoyersville, Pennsylvania, is heading to federal prison for eight months. She didn’t pull off a daring heist—she faked one. On October 15, 2018, Hilstolsky, then an employee of the now-defunct WOD Federal Credit Union, grabbed $16,247 from the teller and safe, then called 911 reporting an armed…
Fake Robbery, Real Time: CU Thief Sentenced
⏱ 2 min read Nicole Hilstolsky, 48, of Swoyersville, Pennsylvania, is headed to federal prison for eight months. She didn’t need a gun or a mask, just a lie. Back on October 15, 2018, Hilstolsky, then an employee of the now-defunct WOD Federal Credit Union, lifted $16,247 from the teller and safe, then dialed 911…
Fake Robbery, Real Jail Time
⏱ 2 min read Nicole Hilstolsky, 48, of Swoyersville, Pennsylvania, is heading to federal prison for eight months after admitting she pilfered $16,247 from the WOD Federal Credit Union back on October 15, 2018. But the theft wasn’t enough – she tried to pass it off as a violent robbery. The now-defunct credit union was…
Tax Collector Stole $400K
⏱ 2 min read Karen McGinnis, 46, of Mountain Top, Pennsylvania, is trading her office for a federal cell after admitting she siphoned over $400,000 from the taxpayers of Fairview Township. The former tax collector used her position to write checks to herself from collected property taxes between March 2023 and January 2025. The scheme…
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…
Inside Job: Credit Union Worker Jailed
⏱ 2 min read Nicole Hilstolsky, 48, of Swoyersville, Pennsylvania, is trading her street clothes for an orange jumpsuit after a federal judge sentenced her to eight months in prison for a brazen scheme at the now-defunct WOD Federal Credit Union. Back on October 15, 2018, Hilstolsky didn’t wait for a robbery – she orchestrated…
Fake Robbery, Real Theft: 8 Months for CU Crook
⏱ 2 min read Nicole Hilstolsky, 48, of Swoyersville, PA, walked into federal court in Scranton today and got 8 months in prison for a pathetic scheme. Back on October 15, 2018, she didn’t just steal $16,247 from the now-defunct WOD Federal Credit Union – she tried to pin it on masked gunmen. The attempt…
Tax Thief Siphoned $400K
⏱ 2 min read Karen McGinnis, 46, of Mountain Top, Pennsylvania, is heading to federal prison after a two-year scheme to skim over $400,000 from the taxpayers of Fairview Township. U.S. District Judge Karoline Mehalchick slapped her with a 20-month sentence yesterday, a small price to pay for betraying the public trust. From March 2023…
Tax Thief Gets 20 Months
⏱ 2 min read SCRANTON, PA – Karen McGinnis, 46, of Mountain Top, will spend the next 20 months in federal prison after admitting she pilfered over $400,000 from Fairview Township taxpayers. U.S. District Judge Karoline Mehalchick handed down the sentence yesterday, closing the book on a brazen scheme that ran from March 2023 to…
