North Huntington woman sentenced to federal prison for bank, mail fraud

A North Huntingdon woman convicted of embezzling from the Steel Valley Authority has been sentenced in federal court in Pittsburgh to 18 months in prison, the U.S. Attorney in Pittsburgh said.

The sentence was imposed on Nicolette Gizzi, 46, who had been convicted of bank and mail fraud.

Prosecutors said Gizzi embezzled checks for almost seven years from the Steel Valley Authority where she was financial manager. She issued checks to herself and her credit card company and forged signatures.

Also, Gizzi, who has a prior federal fraud conviction in South Carolina, defrauded the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina when it attempted to collect restitution for her previous victim.

Prior to imposing sentence, U.S. District Judge Cathy Bissoon added an obstruction of justice sentencing enhancement because of false statements Gizzi made to the U.S. probation officers during her pre-sentencing interview.

U.S. Attorney Scott Brady said Gizzi “devised a scheme to embezzle over $82,000 in Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act funds from her employer at the expense of job seekers who were eligible for those resources.”

Gizzi also was sentenced to five years of supervised release following her prison sentence.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Lee J. Karl prosecuted the case.

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