Nelson S.T. Thayer Jr. Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania | Penn Carey Law School
United States Attorney David Metcalf has announced that Louis Belletieri, a 43-year-old resident of Allentown, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud. The charges are related to his scheme to defraud a title insurance underwriter and clients, as well as submitting a fraudulent application to the Small Business Administration (SBA) for Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL). The plea was entered before United States District Judge Jeffrey L. Schmehl.
Belletieri served as the president of Security Settlement Services of Pittsburgh, doing business as Legacy Title. This company was purportedly providing title and real estate closing services in Pennsylvania. In November 2013, Belletieri signed a contract with a title insurance underwriter designating Legacy Title as its agent for issuing title insurance commitments and policies.
Legacy Title maintained an escrow account meant for handling funds from customers and mortgage lenders involved in real estate transactions. However, according to court documents, Belletieri misused these funds for personal expenses such as online sports betting. From March 2020 through September 2023, he transferred approximately $6.4 million from the escrow account to his personal account and about $2.46 million to the business operating account.
To conceal his actions, Belletieri submitted a fraudulent application to the SBA's EIDL program during the Covid-19 pandemic. He falsely claimed that loan proceeds would be used as working capital but instead used them for personal purposes. His actions resulted in the SBA disbursing approximately $825,000 due to his fraudulent claims.
Belletieri is set for sentencing on September 12 and could face up to 40 years in prison if given the maximum sentence. The investigation was conducted by FBI Philadelphia’s Allentown Resident Agency with support from the Lehigh County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant United States Attorneys John J. Boscia and Rebecca J. Kulik are prosecuting the case.
