A Pittsburgh attorney is accused with embezzling nearly $1.4 million from the group dedicated to preserving the Duquesne Incline.
Christopher Furman, 53, of Pittsburgh, was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of wire fraud and money laundering, U.S. Attorney Troy Rivetti announced Thursday.
In 2020, Furman was named Board of Trustees president of the Society for the Preservation of the Duquesne Heights Incline, the nonprofit that has operated the funicular since 1964. Furman was a former employee of the incline and familiar with its mechanical operations, according to a news release from Rivetti.
He was not authorized to view the society’s bank accounts or use its money for personal purposes, officials said.
The federal indictment alleges Furman transferred $1.38 million from the society’s bank accounts into his own Citizens Bank account through more than 25 electronic transactions between October 2024 and September 2025.
When confronted by another member of the board about withdrawals from the society’s account, the indictment said, Furman claimed they were an error.
Furman moved the money taken from the society to Coinbase, a cryptocurrency exchange and digital asset management platform, where he purchased and sold cryptocurrency, the indictment said. Officials said he transferred about $300,000 back to the society’s accounts after making a profit on cryptocurrency sales.
The FBI conducted the investigation.