Donna Summerlin fraud case update
Here is an update on the Donna Summerlin fraud case. Donna is a 62-year-old deaf woman who was convicted in a federal trial in June of taking over $1.2 million from at least 100 deaf, elderly, or deaf elderly people using false promises of large cash payments from a “deaf lottery” or other programs from 2012 to 2016. The victims were instructed to make several payments upfront for taxes or processing fees but never received the promised cash payments.
I did two news videos on the case in June, one that summarized a press release from the Department of Justice and the second an interview with a victim who said he lost $9,000 from Donna. Links to both stories are in the transcript.
I reached out to the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Middle District of Pennsylvania to ask about the sentencing date and several follow-up questions.
The office said a sentencing date has not been scheduled yet. According to online court records, there will be a “presentence conference” scheduled for December 21, 2021. So it appears the sentencing will take place in early 2022.
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Donna faces up to 20 years in prison for each of her convictions of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering.
I was able to get in touch with one of the federal prosecutors in this case, Acting U.S. Attorney Bruce D. Brandler. I asked what sentence they were seeking, and Brandler said “No comment.”
I asked about what victims could do to be made whole again and what kind of recourse is available for them. Brandler said, “If you believe you may be a victim of Donna Summerlin, please contact Laurie Reiley, Victim-Witness Coordinator at Laurie.Reiley@usdoj.gov.” Brandler said to please be prepared to provide any information supporting your claim, such as copies of communications or financial records, if you have them.
Brandler said many fraud victims “do not come forward because they are sad, scared, confused, or ashamed. As a result, many people lose even more money—if not their entire life savings—because they don’t want to tell their friends and loved ones what has happened to them. Do not let this happen to you. Please contact law enforcement if you are a victim or if you even suspect that someone is trying to victimize you or others. Your proactive response may save countless people from the type of harm that occurred with Donna Summerlin’s victims.”
We will keep you posted on this case in the future.
https://www.dailymoth.com/blog/deaf-money-mule-convicted-for-12-million-in-scams
https://www.dailymoth.com/blog/interview-with-victim-of-donna-summerlin