HARRISBURG — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - Pennsylvania, Middle), published as received.
HARRISBURG - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that Melinda Bixler, age 49, of York, Pennsylvania, entered a plea of guilty before Judge Sylvia H. Rambo of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania to one count of engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from unlawful activity.
According to United States Attorney John C. Gurganus, Bixler operated two businesses—one a for-profit company called Elder Healthcare Solutions; the other a non-profit company called Adult Care Advocates—providing services to elderly clients who resided in the Middle District of Pennsylvania and elsewhere. Both businesses operated from an office location at 4070 W. Market St. in York, PA.
Bixler purchased a home in York, PA for $685,000 using money that she had obtained through various unlawful means. Bixler obtained a mortgage loan for the purchase of her home by submitting multiple false statements to York Traditions Bank. These false statements included a forged letter from the owners of a business property that Bixler had previously purchased stating that she no longer owed money to the prior owners, when in fact she was still making monthly payments on it. Bixler also obtained a false gift letter from a third party wherein that third party stated that he was gifting Bixler $350,000 from his own personal funds when Bixler actually funneled money to that third party through a series of transactions that disguised the true sources of the funds. One source of these funds was $78,000 that Bixler took from the bank account of M.H., a 94-year-old woman residing at a nursing home in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Bixler was then the power of attorney for M.H., and she therefore had access to the elderly client’s bank account.
Bixler agreed to pay a total of $147,882 to three former clients from whom she misappropriated funds; victims M.H, G.E. and E.P. Bixler also agreed to forfeit the property at 4070 W. Market St., along with $129,357.01, the balance in a bank account belonging to Adult Care Advocates. Finally, Bixler agreed to resign her positions with both Elder Healthcare Solutions and Adult Care Advocates.
The case was investigated by Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Federal Bureau of Investigation, York County District Attorney’s Office, York County Area Agency on Aging, and the Pennsylvania Department of Aging, Protective Services Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ravi Romel Sharma is prosecuting the case.
The maximum penalty for this offense under federal law is 10 years’ imprisonment. This charge may also carry a fine and a term of supervised release following imprisonment. A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
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