YORK COUNTY, Pa. — A suspended York County judge has been indicted for fraud, tampering with a witness and obstruction of justice.
The United States Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced Tuesday that Steven Stambaugh, 61, from York, was indicted by a federal grand jury in a 31-count indictment with wire and mail fraud as well as witness tampering and obstruction of justice.
According to York County of Common Pleas, Stambaugh was elected to preside over the 19th Judicial District in November of 2021.
According to United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam, the indictment charges Stambaugh with 26 counts of wire fraud, two counts of mail fraud, two counts of tampering with a witness and one count of obstruction of justice.
It's alleged that from March 19, 2020, to around May 18, 2020, Stambaugh schemed to defraud the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to obtain money through materially false and fraudulent pretenses, representations and promises.
The indictment states that Stambaugh instructed his employees to file and collect unemployment compensation benefits with Pa. during the COVID-19 pandemic, while at the same time directing and requiring his employees to continue working for Stambaugh Law, P.C.
It's also alleged that Stambaugh caused the use of interstate wire communications, as well as the delivery of mail matter via interstate mail deliveries.
The indictment further alleges that beginning in April 2021 through November 2022, Stambaugh attempted to intimidate and corruptly persuade a government witness to offer false testimony before a federal grand jury and to lie to federal law enforcement officers and also attempted to obstruct justice while serving as a judicial officer from the Pa. Court of Common Pleas for York County.
“An important part of the mission of the Office of Inspector General is to investigate allegations of fraud involving unemployment insurance programs. We will continue to work with the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry and our law enforcement partners to investigate these types of allegations,” said Syreeta Scott, Special Agent-in-Charge, Mid-Atlantic Region, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General.
The maximum penalty for mail/wire fraud and witness tampering is 20 years in prison. The maximum penalty for obstruction of justice is 10 years in prison.
As of Oct. 9, Stambaugh is suspended without pay, according to the Commonwealth of Pa. Court of Judicial Discipline.
