Courts.
United States Attorney David Metcalf announced last week that attorney Alan Kane, 60, of Jamison, Pennsylvania, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Michael M. Baylson to 12 months and a day in prison and three years of supervised release for his actions linked to multiple fraud schemes.
Kane must also pay restitution in the amount of $160,072 and a $1,000 fine.
In September, a federal jury convicted Kane on two counts of bankruptcy fraud, one count of filing a false claim in a bankruptcy proceeding, and one count of making a false statement to the FBI, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Kane and two co-defendants were charged in a 12-count indictment in January 2024 that laid out three different fraud schemes: A scheme to steal a house from a dead man’s family, a scheme to defraud the City of Philadelphia out of property taxes that were due on the stolen house, and a scheme to defraud co-defendant Jonathan Barger’s creditors through bankruptcy.
In a suit filed by the family to get their house back, Kane represented the party who had stolen the house, Joseph Ruggiero, who died in June 2020, and made repeated false statements supporting Ruggiero’s claim to good title, despite knowing that the deeds transferring the property away from the family were fraudulent, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Kane also filed a false counterclaim against the family, claiming Barger’s company was entitled to more than $133,000 for work purportedly done to improve the house after it had been stolen.
After claiming in the state court suit that Ruggiero had good title to the house, Kane represented Ruggiero before the Social Security Administration and represented that Ruggiero did not own the house because the deeds were fraudulent. This was done to ensure Ruggiero would still receive SSI benefits, authorities said.
Kane next filed a bankruptcy for Ruggiero, in which they claimed that Ruggiero had valid title to the house. The bankruptcy served to stay the family’s state court suit and prevent them from winning back the house, according to investigators.
Kane then filed a false claim against Ruggiero in the bankruptcy, on behalf of Barger’s company, to steal some of the equity in the house for Barger in the event that Ruggiero lost the house to the family, authorities said.
Barger was implicated in all three schemes and pleaded guilty in June of last year to all counts with which he was charged. He is scheduled to be sentenced on May 12.
“As officers of the court, attorneys have an ethical and professional obligation to uphold the law,” said U.S. Attorney Metcalf. “Instead, Alan Kane used his law license to help three clients commit federal crimes. Today’s sentence holds Kane responsible for his outrageous conduct and underscores the importance of respect for the rule of law.”
“White-collar crimes may not involve physical violence, but they are far from victimless,” said Wayne A. Jacobs, special agent in charge of FBI Philadelphia. “Crimes like bankruptcy fraud undermine trust in our financial systems and harm individuals, businesses, and communities alike. The FBI, working alongside our partners at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, is firmly committed to protecting the integrity of our financial institutions and holding accountable those who manipulate, deceive, and defraud the public through complex and deceptive schemes.”
The case was investigated by the FBI and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark Dubnoff and Special Assistant United States Attorney Hannah McCollum.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using public court records.
