The former president of the board of trustees for the nonprofit that operates the Duquesne Incline has been charged with embezzling more than $1.3 million.
Christopher Furman, 53, of Pittsburgh, was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of wire fraud and money laundering, United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced on Thursday.
While Pittsburgh Regional Transit owns the Duquesne Incline, it’s been operated by the nonprofit Society for the Preservation of the Duquesne Heights Incline since 1964.
According to the indictment, Furman was selected president of the board of trustees because he was a former employee familiar with the incline’s mechanical operations and he was an attorney.
In his role, prosecutors said Furman wasn’t allowed to view the society’s bank accounts or use its money. But the indictment said that more than two dozen times between October 2024 and September 2025, Furman transferred nearly $1.4 million from the society’s bank accounts into his own.
Furman then transferred the money to an online cryptocurrency exchange and digital asset management platform, where he bought and sold cryptocurrency for his personal profit, prosecutors said.
In a statement, the Society for the Preservation of the Duquesne Heights Incline said the organization notified authorities when it discovered discrepancies with its financial records. Furman was removed from his position, and the society said it has been cooperating with the FBI and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania.
“The Society is thankful for the dedicated and thorough handling of these matters by these entities. The historic Duquesne Incline remains fully operational and The Society continues the mission of preservation,” the statement said.
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