Former Business Administrator at Westminster Presbyterian Church Indicted on Tax Charges

PITTSBURGH, PA - A former resident of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on charges of tax fraud, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.

The 16-count indictment named David Reiter, age 51, as the sole defendant.

According to the Indictment, beginning in and around 2011, until his termination from employment in 2018, Reiter as business administrator at Westminster Presbyterian Church located in Upper St. Clair, PA, engaged in a pattern of deception and fraud by regularly embezzling and converting to his personal use funds belonging to church. The Indictment alleges that Reiter failed to pay over employment taxes and filed false personal income tax returns relating to the embezzlement, which materially underreported his personal income.

The law provides for a total sentence of not more than five years’ imprisonment for each of counts one through 11, and not more than three years for each of counts 12 through 16, a fine of $250,000, or a fine not more than the greater of twice the gross pecuniary gain to any person or twice the pecuniary loss to any person other than the defendant. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

Assistant United States Attorney Gregory C. Melucci is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

The Internal Revenue Service-Criminal 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.