A former Pittsburgher admitted Wednesday in court to using a sham energy company to bilk victims out of more than $2 million he and his colleagues used to gamble, pay court-ordered fines and buy jewelry, boats, furniture and wedding gifts.
Jonathan Freeze, 65, pleaded guilty in federal court in Pittsburgh to one count of conspiring to commit mail and wire fraud.
Between 2016 and 2018, Freeze and two co-conspirators convinced multiple victims to take out short-term loans with high interest rates to help fund their fictional business, Alternative Energy Holdings, LLC, court documents showed. They told the victims the company was set to build a plant in South Carolina to convert biodegradable waste into green energy.
The trio collected $2,017,228 from 22 investors.
Some investors were offered ownership stakes in the corporation, according to court papers. Freeze gave others a personal guarantee that he would repay their loans, though he lacked the funds to cover those expenses.
Among those who lost money from the scheme was former Washington County District Attorney Jack Levin. Levin, of North Strabane, said he took out a home equity line of credit to invest $50,000 in the fake venture but never got the double-digit returns he was promised.
The three defendants claimed to have returned about $63,000 — but federal prosecutors said those repayments were made using money loaned by other victims.
Instead of building the plant, the three men often split the victims’ money evenly and used it for their personal benefit — including for gambling, high-end clothing and restaurants.
In addition to spending on lavish items, the conspirators used the money to pay rent, utility bills and restitution mandated by an unrelated prior criminal conviction for fraud, court records showed.
On May 25, 2021, a grand jury handed up an indictment charging the trio with fraud. Authorities took them into custody a week later.
Freeze, who initially pleaded not guilty, is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 22 by U.S. District Judge Robert J. Colville.
He could face up to 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000 or both.
Co-conspirator Robert Irey, then 59, of Clarksville, Greene County, pleaded guilty in November 2021 to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud in a federal courtroom in Downtown Pittsburgh.
Irey died last October before being sentenced. He was 61.
Kevin Carney, 62, of Euclid, Ohio, pleaded guilty in February 2022 to the same charge as Freeze and Irey.
He is scheduled to be sentenced by Colville on Dec. 5.
