A Pennsylvania man pleaded guilty this week to misappropriating millions of dollars to fuel his sports betting habit.
As part of a plea deal with the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Louis Belletieri, 43, of Allentown, pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud, according to the Department of Justice.
Belletieri took the money from a title business he owned and also submitted a fraudulent application to the Small Business Administration.
An investigation revealed that he siphoned off $6.4 million from an escrow account designated for company business to his personal account.
Belletieri could be sentenced to a maximum of 40 years in prison when he appears in court on Sept. 12.
Hiding intentions
As president of Security Settlement Services of Pittsburgh Legacy Title based in Allentown, Belletieri in November 2013 entered into an agreement with Fidelity National Title Insurance. The arrangement acknowledged his firm as an agent for issuing title and real estate services in Pennsylvania.
According to the federal complaint:
"Defendant Belletieri should have maintained the funds in the escrow account for the purpose of conducting real estate transactions and disbursing funds as appropriate and for the purpose for which they were entrusted, such as to pay off mortgages, pay taxes, pay for title insurance, and pay for other expenses in connection with real estate transactions.
“In actuality, defendant Louis Belletieri used the money in the escrow account for personal reasons, including, among other things, to place online sports bets.”
Money from customers and companies directly involved, such as mortgage lenders, was transferred into Legacy Title’s escrow account. Instead of using these funds to pay for mortgages, taxes, and titles, some of the money was used to fund Belletieri's sports betting.
From March 2020 to September 2023, more than $6 million was transferred out of the escrow account and into Belletieri's personal account. Just $2.5 million went to Legacy Title’s operating account.
Belletieri was aware that what he was doing was wrong because he took several steps to try to hide his activity, the DOJ said.
His defense attorney, Joshua Karoly, said his client's crimes were due to a gambling addiction.
“Belletieri makes no excuses for his actions but is unfortunately one of the tens of millions of Americans that suffer from addiction, which was at the root of his actions.”
Fraudulently taking SBA dollars
According to the DOJ, Belletieri also submitted a fraudulent Economic Injury Disaster Loan application to the Small Business Administration. This type of loan can result in a monetary injection in response to a direct disaster affecting company business.
Belletieri made an agreement with the SBA that said he would use the money provided by the loan only to help recover from COVID-19-related economic stress.
The DOJ said he received about $825,000 fraudulently from the SBA.
Pennsylvania is one of 38 states that has a legal sports betting market. Anyone experiencing gambling addiction can receive help from treatment and prevention programs and may add their name to the self-excluded gambling list.
The Pennsylvania sports betting and gambling addiction hotline can be reached as 800-GAMBLER or by texting 800-522-4700. Help is also available at responsibleplay.pa.gov.