Man who stole $1.4M to pay online romance scam gets prison
PITTSBURGH — A man who stole more than $1.4 million from two Pittsburgh-area companies and lost most of it in an overseas online romance scam was sentenced Thursday to two years in federal prison.
Jeffrey Plimpton, 59, pleaded guilty in August to wire fraud for stealing the money from Alpha Aromatics, a fragrance business, and Pestco Professional Services, an Alpha subsidiary. As Alpha's controller, he oversaw the finances of both companies.
Plimpton had begun stealing about $80,000 to pay his mortgage and credit card bills when he met someone online he believed to be a woman, public defender Linda Cohn said. He was conned into sending money overseas, supposedly as an investment in a business venture that he believed would earn money he could use to repay Alpha, she said.
The bulk of the money he stole — about $1.39 million — was lost in the online romance scheme, Assistant U.S. Attorney Shardul Desai said.
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