Woman charged for ripping off couple for $2,000

White Deer, Pa. — A couple lost $2,000 after taking in a woman to help her get back on her feet financially.

Trp. Logan Spiece of state police at Milton says Justine Shawn Shilo, 48, had been staying with the couple in White Deer Township in 2023 when an alleged theft occurred.

The victim told police she opened a bank account for Shilo after she moved in. Shilo, whose current address is listed as Drexel Hill, was not listed as an authorized user on the account, according to the affidavit. Shilo would provide the victim money to deposit into the account and the victim would pay Shilo's bills out of the account.

Shilo allegedly gave the victim a Netspend prepaid card for $2,000 on Jan. 30, 2023 and asked her to deposit it into the account. Shortly after that, the two women had a falling out, Spiece wrote in the affidavit. The victim cut ties with Shilo, withdrew her money from the account, and gave it to her in cash.

Several days later, the victim discovered Netspend withdrew $2,000 out of her personal bank account. The victim told police she suspected Shilo filed a dispute on the deposit of the Netspend card resulting in a charge back.

When Spiece interviewed Shilo, she admitted she falsified a fraudulent use dispute with Netspend regarding the $2,000. She admitted that filing the fraudulent report was wrong and told Spiece she would return the $2,000 to the victim and her husband, according to the affidavit.

As of July 28, 2023, Spiece noted Shilo still had not made any attempts to pay the couple back and she stopped returning his phone calls. Police filed a felony theft by deception charge and Shilo was located and arrested on July 29.

District Judge Scott A. Zeigler set bail at $5,000. Shilo's preliminary hearing is set for Sept. 10 in front of District Judge Jeffrey Mensch.

Docket Sheet