Appeals Court Affirms Sentence For Olson’s Wire Fraud Offense

     The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that the Third Circuit Court of Appeals Monday affirmed the 65-month prison sentence imposed by Senior U.S. District Court Judge James M. Munley on Jeffrey Olson for his scheme to defraud investors of $2.8 million and for violating conditions of his supervised release.

     According to United States Attorney Peter J. Smith, Olson, age 51, who resided in Pocono Lake during the time of the offense, previously pleaded guilty to wire fraud in connection with soliciting investments in a business called Northco Investments between 2008 and 2011. Olson was sentenced to prison in February 2013.

     Olson was charged in May 2011, as a result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

     In his appeal, Olson challenged the validity of his guilty plea; claimed that the government promised him a lesser sentence; and argued that consecutive sentences for the wire fraud offense and his supervised release violation were unreasonable. The Third Circuit Court rejected each of those claims and noted that Judge Munley’s sentence was “premised upon appropriate and judicious consideration of the relevant factors.” 

     Assistant United States Attorney Francis P. Sempa prosecuted the case and handled the appeal for the government.