Charity Director Admits Using Funds for Personal Use, Filing False Tax Returns

PITTSBURGH - A resident of Beaver County, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty in federal court to charges of mail fraud and filing a false income tax return, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.

Steven R. Wetzel, 39, of Beaver Falls, Pa., pleaded guilty to two counts before United States District Judge Nora Barry Fischer.

In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that Steven R. Wetzel was the Executive Director of the Hero Program. He was responsible for collecting donations and making distributions of funds collected. The Hero Program was a charity operated through the Frontline Initiative, Inc., a Pennsylvania non-profit tax exempt organization, located in Beaver, Pennsylvania. The Hero Program funds were to be used to meet the needs of terminally ill children. Wetzel used the Hero Program grant and donation monies intended for the benefit of terminally ill children and their families for his own personal benefit and personal reasons by, among other things, paying his own Duquesne Light bills, spending approximately $5,000 at restaurants, spending approximately $1,500 for Starbucks Coffee purchases, purchasing flowers for three women and Sewickley Spa gift certificates for two women, spending approximately $3,600 for Pittsburgh Pirates Baseball game tickets, paying for his own treatment at a dentist and an eye doctor, purchasing glasses for himself, and paying for home remodeling projects at his own home. Wetzel attempted to cover up these personal expenditures by claiming that each was made for the benefit of Hero Program families. Approximately $91,000 was spent for his personal benefit, while approximately $10,000 went to the intended recipients of those grant and donation monies. In addition, Wetzel filed four United States Individual Income Tax Returns, Form 1040s for the calendar years 2010 through 2013 reporting less taxable income than was received in that he did not report the monies described above.

Judge Fischer scheduled sentencing for Jan. 14, 2016. The law provides for a maximum total sentence of 23 years in prison, a fine of $500,000 or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

Assistant United States Attorney Nelson P. Cohen is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

The Beaver Police Department initiated and worked together with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation to conduct the investigation leading to the Information filed in this case.