HARRISBURG – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that on March 4, 2022, a criminal information was filed charging Melinda Bixler, age 49, of York, Pennsylvania, with one count of engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from unlawful activity.
According to United States Attorney John C. Gurganus, the information alleges that Bixler purchased a home in York, PA for $685,000 using money that she had obtained through various unlawful means.
The information alleges that Bixler obtained a mortgage loan for the purchase of this home by submitting multiple false statements to York Traditions Bank. These false statements allegedly included a forged letter from the owners of a business property that Bixler had previously purchased stating that she no longer owed money to the prior owners, when in fact she was still making monthly payments on it. It is also alleged that Bixler obtained a gift letter from her son stating that he was gifting his mother $350,000 from his own personal funds when Bixler actually funneled money to her son through a series of transactions that disguised the true sources of the funds. One source of these funds was $78,000 that Bixler took from the bank account of M.H., a 94-year-old woman residing at a nursing home in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Bixler was then the power of attorney for M.H., and she therefore had access to the elderly client’s bank account.
The case was investigated by Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Federal Bureau of Investigation, York County District Attorney’s Office, York County Area Agency on Aging, and the Pennsylvania Department of Aging, Protective Services Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ravi Romel Sharma is prosecuting the case.
If convicted, the maximum penalty under federal law is 10 years’ imprisonment. This charge may also carry a fine and a term of supervised release following imprisonment. A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
Informations are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.
# # #