Stowe woman accused of bilking $13K in Westmoreland rental assistance cash for properties she doesn't own

An Allegheny County woman is accused of stealing $13,000 in emergency rental assistance after police said she claimed to be the landlord of two properties in Murrysville and Export, according to court papers.

Janice L. Koranteng, 57, of Stowe was arraigned this week on charges of theft, forgery, identity theft and receiving stolen property.

Westmoreland County detectives said a discrepancy was reported in February by Union Mission near Latrobe, which was tapped to administer the program distributing federal funds aimed at helping renters who suffered financial hardship during the coronavirus pandemic.

Koranteng applied for relief related to a Harrison Avenue home in Export and an Italy Road property in Murrysville using different last names, but authorities realized there might be an issue when both applicants provided the same Social Security number, according to court papers. Koranteng claimed to be the landlord at both properties.

She was given $3,000 for utility expenses and $10,000 for back rent in the Export application, but the Murrysville application was halted after the discovery, detectives said.

Koranteng admitted to providing false information on the applications, according to court papers. She gave $5,000 to a friend she owed money and withdrew more of the funds from ATMs after a friend deposited the two checks into a bank account, police said. The actual Export landlord told authorities neither he nor his tenant participated in the emergency rental assistance program and Koranteng was not associated with the property.

She is free on $25,000 unsecured bail and did not have an attorney listed in online court records.

Millions of dollars are available for renters who are continuing to struggle financially because of the pandemic. Applications can be found on a website created for the county’s rental assistance program at erapwestmoreland.org.