Man pleads guilty to theft by contractor charge, sentencing scheduled

A Pennsylvania man who allegedly misled customers pleaded guilty to a theft by contractor charge Friday.

Edward Van Der Molen sold villas as investment properties at the Three Bears Resort in Warren, according to a criminal complaint (PDF), with the idea that a purchaser would rent out the villa and make a profit. However, Van Der Molen did not disclose to the investors that his company was losing millions of dollars a year.

Several people lost thousands, sometimes hundreds of thousands, in the transactions.

In addition, the complaint states, Van Der Molen took more than $80,000 that was to be used for work on a customer’s villa and used it to pay for something else that was not disclosed.

Van Der Molen is scheduled for sentencing June 2 in front of Monroe County Circuit Judge Todd Ziegler. He faces up to 10 years of prison. Two other dropped charges – racketeering and securities fraud – will be read in at sentencing.