Cranberry Twp. Woman Charged with Defrauding Allegheny Valley Bank

PITTSBURGH – A Butler County resident has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on a charge of bank fraud, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.

The one-count indictment named Jennifer Colamarino, 33, of Cranberry Township, Pa., as the sole defendant.

According to the indictment, from October 2014 through March 2015, Colamarino defrauded Allegheny Valley Bank by using a closed PNC Bank account to make approximately 94 online payments towards her husband’s Allegheny Valley Bank credit card account. Colamarino then used the Allegheny Valley Bank credit card at various locations to make numerous purchases. During the relevant time period, Colamarino made no legitimate payments towards the Allegheny Valley Bank credit card account, and Allegheny Valley Bank suffered a loss of approximately $62,842.57 as a result of the fraud.

The law provides for a maximum total sentence of 30 years in prison, a fine of $1,000,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

Assistant United States Attorney Lee J. Karl is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation leading to the indictment in this case.

An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.