Lancaster woman defrauded millions from American Legion, AMVET organizations

LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. (WHTM) — A Lancaster County woman managed to defraud over $1 million from two nonprofit veteran organizations, according to the Department of Justice.

Jessika Hiepler, 46, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to two counts of wire fraud in connection to the scheme that defrauded American Legion Post 34, located at 1388 Arcadia Road, and American Veterans Post 19, located at 1715 Fairview Ave., a news release from the DOJ reads.

Hiepler was a part of Legion Post 34 for almost 15 years where she was on the board, a manager, treasurer, and financial officer.

The DOJ says in 2019 she offered to “bail out” AMVETS Post 19, which was facing financial difficulties. Hiepler was able to take control of its financial affairs and acquired its property through theft, deceit, and misrepresentation, the DOJ says.

She stole funds from her employer, Legion Post 34, for the bail out, and then stole from AMVETS when she took control of its finances. Business and financial records from both nonprofits were destroyed or altered by Hiepler, according to the release.

A few years after Hiepler was able to acquire the AMVETS Post 19 property, she then sold it for $1.95 million and only booked a gain of $1.425 million after expenses.

According to the DOJ, Hiepler also made insulting comments about the veteran organizations, such as “I can’t wait to see their face when we hand them their eviction notice,” and “Honestly all I want is my money. That’s it.”

“Jessika Hiepler’s contempt for her victims, veterans who served this country, is palpable — and despicable,” U.S. Attorney Romero said in a statement. “Not only did she defraud these organizations, she did so gleefully, hurling insults and expletives behind the scenes. My office and the FBI will never stop working to hold crooks like this accountable on behalf of fraud victims, both past and potential.”

Hiepler faces up to 40 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $500,000 fine along with restitution. As part of her plea agreement, she agreed to a forfeiture money judgment in the amount of $1,425,847.24, the DOJ says.

The FBI and Lancaster City Bureau of Police investigated the case.

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