Florida police arrested a man wanted for swindling Lackawanna County out of more than $56,000 meant for the county’s Winter Market tent provider more than a year ago.
Michael Patrylo, 23, of Oviedo, Florida, allegedly used the money for travel through Delta Air Lines, travel and travel damage insurance, Uber rides, Doordash food deliveries and a Vrbo vacation rental. He also set aside $10,000 for an account at Fidelity Investments, according to an arrest affidavit.
The swindle totaled $56,689.75.
District Attorney Brian Gallagher said Patrylo was arrested Friday at his home by Oviedo police and will be extradited to face the local charges. Oviedo is just northeast of Orlando.
Patrylo is charged with theft by unlawful taking, theft by deception, receiving stolen property, forgery and criminal use of a communications facility.
Gallagher said Patrylo hacked into email account of L&A Tent Rentals Inc. The company provided tents for the Winter Market that took place between Nov. 30 and Dec. 4, 2023, on Courthouse Square in Scranton.
Once Patrylo gained the county contacts through company emails, the suspect pretended he was an L&A Tent Rentals official in emails with Maureen McGuigan, the county’s arts and culture director, according to the affidavit.
“Hey Maureen, following up to know the payment status of the previously attached invoices,” he wrote in a Dec. 22, 2023, email.
He also told McGuigan the company would prefer to get paid electronically from now on and asked for a blank electronic money transfer authorization form.
“We do not think this will require (additional) charges on our side but kindly advise if it does as we are more than willing to cover this,” he wrote, according to the affidavit.
On Dec. 27 at 10:42 a.m., McGuigan sent the blank form and got it back “vaguely filled out” with payments to be sent to an account at Kansas-based NBKC Bank.
The form did not include a voided check with the account numbers at first, but McGuigan asked for one at 11:42 a.m. She received an email with a voided check numbered 0001. The email asked when the invoice would be paid. She later told the sender the bill was paid.
Shortly after that, the real L&A Tent Rentals official emailed asking when the company would get paid.
McGuigan told him the bill was paid to NBKC Bank, but the official said the company uses PNC Bank exclusively.
Using a search warrant served on NBKC Bank, county detective Colleen Catanese identified Patrylo as the holder of the bank account where the money was transferred. The account was created in June 2022.
The account showed the county money electronically transferred, according to the affidavit.
The investigation found mobile logins to the bank account came from an internet protocol address that matched “locations found to be associated with Patrylo,” Catanese wrote in the affidavit.
On Jan. 25, 2024, Patrylo used the NBKC account to buy a plane ticket for travel from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City to Orlando.
McGuigan reported the theft Feb. 2, 2024. The county publicly announced the theft last June.
A county news release said the county computer system was not hacked and the county filed an insurance claim for the loss.
County solicitor Don Frederickson said the county dropped the claim because the deductible was $50,000 and the county determined a payout would raise future premiums more than the reimbursed amount. Frederickson said the county will likely pursue restitution from the suspect through the court system.
"At least they got the guy," he said.
County chief of staff Brian Jeffers said the county instituted additional internal controls to prevent a repeat, including masking routing and account numbers in emails and having the county treasurer review and handle all electronic transfer requests.
