Former Greensburg woman sentenced in federal bank fraud case

A former Greensburg woman was sentenced last week to 36 months in a federal prison for using the identity of a person she counseled at a Hempfield drug treatment center to get $60,000 in loans, according to federal prosecutors.

Nina Marie Barkley, 36, was ordered to spend four years on supervised release. She pleaded guilty in March to bank fraud and aggravated identity theft.

Barkley was first arrested in 2021 by state police in Westmoreland County before federal authorities took over the case after she was indicted later that year.

A grand jury said Barkley was working at the drug treatment center as a counselor when she began counseling a person identified in the indictment as KP, who provided biographical and personal information to Barkley during their sessions. Barkley used KP’s personal information to apply for loans at eight financial institutions totaling $60,000.

Prosecutors said that after Barkley was indicted in November 2021, she used KP’s information to apply for help through the Emergency Rental Assistance Program and stole the personal information of another person to try to get a line of credit for the purchase of a car, according to a sentencing memorandum. She also provided fake medical records to the court in early 2022 claiming that she was in remission from leukemia.

Prosecutors said in the memorandum that while Barkley’s crimes were not violent, she demonstrated a disregard for the law.

“Here, the defendant made the conscious, deliberate choice to engage in criminal activity not once, but time and again, and in doing so, caused substantial harm to a real victim,” they wrote. “Most concerning, the defendant’s criminal conduct did not stop when she was charged with the instant offenses.”

As part of her probation requirements, Barkley must seek approval before opening any line of credit and must provide access to any financial information at the request of her probation officer, according to court filings.

She took full responsibility for the crimes, assistant federal public defender Johanathan D. Brooks wrote in a sentencing memorandum. He pointed to a traumatic upbringing and mental health diagnoses in seeking a lower sentence.

“This conviction has effectively ruined any career in social work or nursing that Ms. Barkley could pursue,” Brooks wrote. “No other facility will place her in a position of trust again. Not only that, but this conviction has also strained personal and familial relationships as well.”