Philadelphia Judith Avilez of Elizabethtown, PA, was sentenced to three years in prison, five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $15 million in restitution by Judge Jeffrey L. Schmehl for participating in a massive bank fraud scheme over many years.
In September 2020, Avilez, the former controller of Worley & Obetz, pleaded guilty to her role in a scheme that defrauded Fulton Bank of over $65 million. Avilez admitted that from 2016 through May 2018, she helped Worley & Obetz s CEO, Jeffrey Lyons, defraud Fulton Bank by creating fraudulent financial statements that grossly inflated accounts receivable for Worley & Obetz s largest customer, Giant Food. Worley & Obetz was an oil and gas company in Manheim, PA, that provided home heating oil, gasoline, diesel, and propane to its customers.
Former Worley & Obetz controller sentenced to federal prison for role in massive bank fraud
Updated Feb 04, 2021;
The former controller for the Manheim-based Worley & Obetz energy firm has been sentenced to 3 years in federal prison for her role in a $65 million bank fraud mounted by company officials.
Acting U.S. Attorney Jennifer Williams said Thursday that Judith Avilez, 60, of Elizabethtown, also was ordered to pay $15 million in restitution by U.S. Eastern District Judge Jeffrey L. Schmehl.
Avilez pleaded guilty in September to charges that from 2016 through May 2018, she helped Worley & Obetz CEO Jeffrey Lyons defraud Fulton Bank by creating fraudulent financial statements that grossly inflated the accounts receivable for the firm’s largest customer, Giant Food.