A 44-year-old title agent from Allentown was sentenced Wednesday to four and a half years in federal prison for spending $6 million of his clients’ funds, according to the man’s attorney.
Defense attorney Joshua Karoly said Louis Belletieri was addicted to sports gambling. Belletieri embezzled funds put in escrow that were supposed to be used to complete real estate sale transactions for his clients, court records say.
Instead, Belletieri used the funds to place sports bets and for personal reasons, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s office.
From March 2020 through September 2023, Belletieri transferred funds electronically from the escrow account of Legacy Title, his business, to his personal account, the release says. The funds were supposed to pay off mortgages, pay taxes, obtain title insurance, and pay for other expenses in connection with real estate transactions.
Belletieri also admitted submitting a fraudulent application to the Small Business Administration to obtain $825,000 worth of Economic Injury Disaster Loans intended for COVID-19 relief.
Belletieri pleaded guilty in May to two counts of wire fraud. Karoly said at the time of the plea that Belletieri had been in treatment for months for his gambling addiction.
In 2024, at least 15 people came forward to Lehigh County authorities accusing Belletieri of misappropriating their funds.
The case was investigated by the FBI Philadelphia’s Allentown Resident Agency with help from the Lehigh County District Attorney’s Office and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys John J. Boscia and Rebecca J. Kulik.
If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.