Peters Township man accused of stealing $120k from Fayette County business
A Peters Township man is in jail on charges that he stole more than $120,000 from a Fayette County business, and then attempted to extort the owners out of even more money when they discovered the fraud.
Jonathan Michael Deal, 38, was charged Monday by state police with 373 felony charges of theft by unlawful taking. He faces additional felonies of attempted extortion and unlawful use of a computer.
According to the criminal complaint, in November 2022 William Shaffer Sr. and his son William Shaffer Jr., owners of Shaffer’s Fabricating in North Union Township, reported the stolen funds to state police.
Court records state that the Shaffers hired Deal in September 2021 to act as the company’s corporate controller and chief financial officer (CFO). Despite a verbal agreement that he would start at $50,000 per year, Deal is accused of paying himself a $78,000 salary. He then allegedly manipulated the company’s books to make it seem like he was making less.
In October 2022, police said Deal listed his salary as $75,000 on an application to receive a $370,500 loan from Rocket Mortgage, which was used to purchase a home.
Investigators also found that while applying for this loan, Deal sent an email to Rocket Mortgage posing as Shaffer Sr. to provide confirmation of employment. Shaffer Sr. confirmed to police he did not draft or send the email, and the phone number in the email signature belonged to Deal.
According to the complaint, between December 2021 and October 2022, Deal used company credit cards and bank accounts to make more than $100,000 in personal purchases. This includes air travel, hotels, meals and online shopping.
Deal is also accused of funneling money from Shaffer’s Fabricating to “Arcadian Operations,” a supposed consulting firm. State police alleged that Arcadian Operations is a “front” that Deal would use to launder money stolen from the Shaffers.
Three months before the Shaffers went to the police, Deal came to them and said the company was falling into debt. He then offered them $80,000 for 50% of the business.
State police describe this in the complaint as an act of “corporate espionage,” meaning Deal put himself in a position to financially damage Shaffer Fabricating in order to devalue the company and purchase it at a low price.
When the Shaffers discovered the extent of the theft, Deal claimed that Shaffer’s Fabricating owed him another $30,000 to $60,000 for electrical work, but the Shaffers claim the work was never completed.
According to the complaint, Deal went on to threaten the Shaffers by telling them that if they did not “compromise” with him or reported him to the police, he would take legal action to “destroy” the business. He also allegedly threatened to make damaging reports to credit agencies and damage the company’s relationships with vendors.
Deal was arraigned Tuesday afternoon before District Judge Nathan Henning, who sent him to the Fayette County jail on $200,000 bond.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. April 10.