Mifflin County Man Charged With Wire Fraud And Making False Statements

WILLIAMSPORT – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that on December 10, 2020, Daniel P. Sickels, age 46, of Mifflin County, Pennsylvania, was indicted by a federal grand jury on wire fraud and false statement charges.

According to David J. Freed, the indictment charges Sickels, a Network and Systems Manager at Pennsylvania State University (“PSU), with fraudulently acquiring equipment that he subsequently sold to third parties.  The scheme lasted from 2005 to 2017.  Sickels is also charged with falsely telling investigators with the Federal Bureau of Investigation that he never received payment for items that were purchased by PSU.

The matter was investigated by investigators at PSU and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Alisan V. Martin is prosecuting the case.

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.

Sickels faces maximum penalties of 25 years’ imprisonment, a fine of twice the gross gain or loss, and 8 years of supervised release when he is sentenced. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant's educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.

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