Drossner co-founder of Elkins Park, Pa.-based accounting firm Drossner & Siegal, was also sentenced to three years of supervised release. He is no longer associated with the firm. He was also required to notify the Pennsylvania State Board of Accountancy of the plea and consent to the suspension of his CPA license. The accountant had been indicted on 22 counts, including racketeering conspiracy, securities fraud, wire fraud, mail fraud, bank fraud, extortion, interstate travel in aid of racketeering, money laundering and obstruction of justice. His guilty plea was in exchange for dropping the other counts.
The government said in April 2007, Scarfo, along with Salvatore Pelullo and others took over Texas-based FirstPlus Financial Group by intimidating the prior management and board of directors and replacing them with mob cronies.
In February 2008, Drossner helped Scarfo and Scarfo's then-fiancée, now wife, Lisa Murray-Scarfo, to secure a $500,000 mortgage to buy a house for $715,000 in Egg Harbor Township, N.J., for Scarfo. Under Pelullo's direction, Drossner created bogus tax returns to help the fiancée qualify for the mortgage by exaggerating her income. Scarfo got the over $215,000 from money the government said was looted from First Plus.
After federal law enforcement shut down the scheme in May 2008, Scarfo could not pay the mortgage and the house was sold after bank foreclosure in 2010.
After the First Plus scheme was shut down by federal law enforcement in May 2008, Scarfo was reportedly unable to pay the mortgage and the house ultimately went into foreclosure. It was sold by the bank in 2010.
The indictment said Drossner was hired to prepare the financial statements of FirstPlus and withheld material information about the lender's financial condition based on Pelullo's instruction. He also worked for corporate entities and trusts owned by Scarfo. After Scarfo and Pelullo and their allies seized control of the company, they acquired companies controlled by the two that were overvalued and worthless. The government said the parties drained the mortgage lender of about $12 million.
Scarfo along with Pelullo, an associate of the Luchese and Philadelphia La Cosa Nostra families; William Maxwell, a Texas lawyer; and William's brother,John Maxwell, who was the nominal CEO of First Plus after the takeover, were convicted of several offenses, in including racketeering conspiracy, in July 2014 after a six-month trial. They have not been sentenced.
John Parisi, who managed Scarfo's shell company; Murray-Scarfo, who participated in the mortgage fraud; and Cory Leshner, described as a participant in the looting of First Plus have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentence. Two unindicted co-conspirators, Scarfo's father, Nicholas (Nicodemo) D. Scarfo, former boss of the Philadelphia Cosa Nostra family; and Vittorio Amuso, head of the Lucchese family, are serving lengthy prison sentences.