Sister of PA Cyber Charter School Founder Sentenced for Filing a False Tax Return

PITTSBURGH, PA - A resident of Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to 24 months of probation, ordered to perform 75 hours of community service and ordered to pay $30,223 in restitution on her conviction of filing a false tax return, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.

Chief United States District Judge Joy Flowers Conti imposed the sentence on Elaine Trombetta Neill.

According to information presented to the court, Elaine Trombetta Neill is the sister of Nicholas Trombetta, the former founder and head of PA Cyber, an on-line cyber charter school. Elaine Trombetta Neill filed false personal tax returns which reported a large portion of the income of her brother on her personal return, thereby concealing it. The returns are also false in that they inflated the business deductions of Neill and a sham business called One2One.

Assistant United States Attorneys James R. Wilson, Stephen R. Kaufman, and Robert S. Cessar prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

United States Attorney Brady commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation and Department of Education/Office of Inspector General for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Trombetta Neill.