Local Woman Sentenced to Probation for Counterfeiting Court Seal
| U.S. Attorney’s Office August 07, 2009 |
United States Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan announced today, August 7, 2009, that Dorothy Hunt, a resident of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to two years of probation on her conviction of counterfeiting a seal of the court of the United States.
United States District Judge David S. Cercone imposed the sentence on Hunt, age 42.
According to information presented to the court by Assistant United States Attorney Carolyn J. Bloch, on October 19, 2005, Hunt forged the seal of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania for the purpose of authenticating a purported Notice of Bankruptcy Case Filing. Upon the filing of a bankruptcy petition, creditors who are due money are provided notice of the filing and are, thereafter, prevented from collecting from the debtor or terminating utility services while the bankruptcy case proceeds. Hunt submitted the forged notice to Duquesne Light Company in an effort to prevent electric service at her home from being terminated for failure to pay in excess of $1,500.00.
Ms. Buchanan commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Trustee for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Hunt.