Pittsburgh-area attorney facing new theft charges after more victims come forward
John Allen Roth of Latrobe was originally charged in November of last year after investigators said he stole more than $30,000 from a woman in jail, using the money to fuel his gambling habit. After his arrest, Westmoreland County detectives said they received reports from three more people who had been victimized by Roth.
Detectives said the first victim said she had hired Roth for a custody case and agreed to pay him $200 every other week, giving him $3,400 over the course of a year. But at a court hearing in July of 2024, she told detectives that Roth said he could no longer represent her.
When she asked about her money, detectives said Roth told her he spent it on "other things." Detectives said they learned that court records never listed Roth as her counsel.
Authorities said the second victim wanted help filing for bankruptcy and paid Roth more than $2,300 in October. After a conversation that only lasted a few minutes, detectives said Roth told the victim to take a counseling course online and then was never heard from again.
The third victim said he hired Roth in 2016 because he wanted help getting a pardon, but after paying a $2,000 retainer, he couldn't get in touch with Roth again, even though he called nearly a dozen times.
After learning about Roth's arrest, detectives said the third victim contacted the Pennsylvania Board of Pardons and learned his application was never received.
In total, detectives said Roth took more than $7,700 from those three victims. He's facing new charges of theft and deceptive business practices.
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