7/24/18
by News Department on 07/24/18Fraud charges...
A former Schuylkill County Clerk of Courts was charged with fraud.
According to Skook News, the US Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced Monday that 68 year old Steven M. Lukach, Jr., of Nesquehoning, was indicted by a federal grand jury on twenty counts of mail and wire fraud and manufacturing records to obstruct an investigation.
Lukach served as the Clerk of Courts for Schuylkill County for approximately 27 years.
The indictment alleges that in 2013-2014, county auditors with the Controller’s Office began an in depth examination of the Clerk’s Office and discovered misappropriation of funds by Lukach.
An FBI investigation ensued and while the audit was going on, Lukach allegedly interfered with the audit by stealing mail that was sent to banks, forged records and sent the fake bank records to the Controller’s Office, in an effort to conceal his thefts.
He was arrested by federal agents Monday morning and appeared in federal court in Scranton.
He was released on pre-trial supervision pending trial.
