Man who stole $1.4M to pay online romance scam faces prison

PITTSBURGH – A man federal prosecutors say was victimized in an overseas, online romance scam faces sentencing for stealing more than $1.4 million from two Pittsburgh-area companies whose funds he controlled.

Fifty-nine-year-old Jeffrey Plimpton pleaded guilty in August to stealing the money from two Pennsylvania companies, Alpha Aromatics, a fragrance business, and Pestco Professional Services, a pest control firm. Plimpton worked as the companies’ controller.

Federal prosecutors are seeking about three years in prison when Plimpton is sentenced Thursday by a federal judge in Pittsburgh, but Plimpton’s attorney is asking for leniency.

Plimpton used more than $80,000 to pay his mortgage, and credit card bills but sent most of the money – nearly $1.4 million – overseas at the direction of someone he thought was a woman he met online.