Philadelphia, PA – A Chester County man has pleaded guilty to stealing more than $1.6 million worth of coins from a Wells Fargo safety deposit box in Center City, federal prosecutors announced Tuesday.
Richard DiStefano, 65, of Paoli, entered his plea before U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Savage to one count of bank larceny. Prosecutors said that between July 2017 and February 2021, DiStefano repeatedly accessed the safety deposit box at the Wells Fargo branch on South Broad Street and removed collectible coins belonging to an organization that stored them there.
Court filings show that DiStefano sold the stolen coins over time through various auction houses. The theft went undetected until June 2024, when the FBI was alerted and later confirmed DiStefano was the last person with access to the box. A search of his residence that September revealed his admission to the crime.
DiStefano now faces up to 10 years in federal prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine when sentenced on January 13, 2026.
A years-long scheme of coin theft will now cost DiStefano his freedom.
