SCRANTON - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that Joel Hunsicker, age 37, of Scranton, Pennsylvania was charged on July 31, 2018, in a criminal information with stealing student incentive gift cards.
According to United States Attorney David Freed, Hunsicker was in charge of counseling youths at the PA CareerLink in Lackawanna County. During the course of five years as a student counselor, Hunsicker stole more than $6,500 worth of federally funded gift cards intended for student rewards, Hunsicker used those cards for his own personal benefit.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of the Inspector General. Assistant United States Evan Gotlob 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.
The maximum penalty under federal law is 10 years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. 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.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
