Source: Office of United States Attorneys
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Louis Belletieri, 43, of Allentown, Pennsylvania, entered a plea of guilty today before United States District Judge Jeffrey L. Schmehl on two counts of wire fraud, charges arising from his scheme to defraud a title insurance underwriter and clients and his fraudulent application to the Small Business Administration (SBA) to obtain Economic Injury Disaster Loans (“EIDL”).
In May of this year, the defendant was charged with those offenses by information.
As detailed in court documents, Belletieri was the president of Allentown-based Security Settlement Services of Pittsburgh d/b/a Legacy Title (“Legacy Title”), which he purported to operate for the purpose of providing title and real estate closing services to clients in connection with real estate transactions.
In or about November 2013, the defendant, as Legacy Title’s president, entered into a contract with a title insurance underwriter, in which the underwriter appointed Legacy Title as its agent for the purpose of issuing title insurance commitments, policies, endorsements for Pennsylvania properties.
Legacy Title and Belletieri maintained an escrow account to receive funds in connection with these and other client real estate transactions. The money from customers, mortgage lenders, and others was typically transferred electronically into Legacy Title’s escrow account.
Belletieri should have maintained the funds in the escrow account for the purpose of conducting real estate transactions and disbursing funds as appropriate and for the purpose for which they were entrusted, such as to pay off mortgages, pay taxes, obtain title insurance, and pay for other expenses in connection with real estate transactions.
As further detailed in court filings and admitted to by the defendant, he instead used the funds in the escrow account for personal reasons, including, among other things, to place online sports bets.
During the course of the scheme, Belletieri regularly made and caused to be made electronic transfers of funds to and from the escrow account to, from, and among Legacy Title’s business operating account, his personal bank account, his credit card account, and online sports betting platforms.
From in or about March 2020 through in or about September 2023, Belletieri made electronic transfers of funds from the escrow account to his personal account totaling approximately $6,434,500, and from the escrow account to the business operating account totaling approximately $2,460,190, many of which were not for legitimate business purposes.
Belletieri took numerous steps to conceal his fraud upon his clients and the title insurance underwriter, including by submitting a fraudulent application to the SBA on behalf of Legacy Title to defraud the SBA and obtain funds via the EIDL program. In connection with this application, the defendant entered into fraudulent loan agreements with the SBA, falsely agreeing that he would use the proceeds of the loan solely as working capital to alleviate economic injury related to the Covid-19 pandemic.
When the SBA disbursed the EIDL funding to Legacy Title and Belletieri pursuant to his fraudulent application, Belletieri used significant portions of the proceeds for personal uses, rather than as working capital for Legacy Title. As a result, the defendant caused the SBA to disburse a total of approximately $825,000 due to his fraud.
Belletieri is scheduled to be sentenced on September 12 and faces a maximum possible sentence of 40 years’ imprisonment.
The case was investigated by FBI Philadelphia’s Allentown Resident Agency with assistance from the Lehigh County District Attorney’s Office and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys John J. Boscia and Rebecca J. Kulik.