PHILADELPHIA – U.S. Attorney William M. McSwain announced
that Leslie Acosta, former Pennsylvania State Representative and former
employee of the Juniata Community Mental Health Clinic, was sentenced today to
seven months in federal prison by U.S. District Court Judge Joel H. Slomsky. Acosta was also ordered to pay $623,000 in
restitution.
Acosta had previously pled guilty to conspiracy to commit
money laundering. The charge arose out
of Acosta’s agreement to cash unearned checks from the Clinic and give the cash
to Renee Tartaglione, who at the time was President of the Board of Directors
of the Clinic. Acosta agreed to
cooperate with the government in its investigation of Tartaglione and testified
at Tartaglione’s federal criminal trial in 2017.
“Today’s sentence recognizes the need to punish those who
help others steal money from nonprofit corporations,” said U.S. Attorney
McSwain. “It reinforces the important principle that nonprofit organizations,
especially those that provide services to the disadvantaged, exist for the
people they serve and not for the personal enrichment of their leaders. Our office will continue to aggressively
pursue those who participate in schemes to steal from nonprofits.”
The case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of
Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service. It is being prosecuted by
Assistant U.S. Attorney Bea L. Witzleben and Department of Justice Trial
Attorney Peter Halpern.
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