Delco Men Ran $102K Fraud Scheme: Authorities

DELAWARE COUNTY, PA — Two Delaware County men are accused of running a fraud scheme using electronic payment systems, authorities said.

District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer said Dory Sater, 45, of Drexel Hill, and Eric Stankiewicz, 35, of Secane, are charged with multiple counts of felony theft and related charges for their respective roles in a large-scale fraud.

Sater, an attorney, was previously convicted in November last year of federal bank fraud and aggravated identity theft offenses. His license to practice law was suspended in October 2018.

But in the new case, Clifton Heights Borough Police got a theft report from a local business.

A witness told police that a long-time employee, identified as Stankiewicz, created unauthorized sales receipts, purchase orders, and credit card payments, the DA's office said.

An investigation local and county detectives found that, after creating the fraudulent purchase orders, Stankiewicz made fraudulent payments using the business's credit cards, funneling money through online credit card processing systems "Square Inc." and "PayPal" to companies known as Esquire Specialty Parts and Rhoads Vintage, according to the DA's office.

Authorities said Stankiewicz made 30 fraudulent transactions totaling $102,017.57 from December 2019 and through March 2020.

More investigation showed Esquire Specialty Parts was owned by Sater, and it got 27 of the fraudulent payments, totaling $95,591, directed from the business by Stankiewicz. And, the fraudulent transactions directed to the business known as Rhoads Vintage were directed to Stankiewicz himself, authorities said.

Using a different "Square Inc." account, Sater then filtered $40,000 of the funds back to Stankiewicz.