Financial Adviser Defrauded Princeton Woman Out of $200,000: Indictment

A 74-year-old Pennsylvania accountant and financial adviser has been indicted on four counts of defrauding a Princeton woman out of over $200,000, Acting Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo J. Onofri said.

John J. Katsock Sr., of Yardley, Pa., was charged with second-degree theft by unlawful taking, second-degree theft by deception, second-degree misapplication of entrusted property and second-degree financial facilitation.

An attorney for Chauncey Meyer referred the investigation to the Mercer County Prosecutor Office Economic Crime Unit last year.

Katsock was serving as Meyer’s trustee. He allegedly stole over $200,000 from Meyer since February of 2010.

Meyer, a Princeton resident who worked at the library, died at the age of 91 in September, according to Planet Princeton. The Chauncey Irrevocable Trust Fund was established in 1996.

Katsock allegedly diverted money from the trust accounts in a variety of ways.

In one instance, he allegedly directed Meyer to make tens of thousands of dollars in estimated tax payments from her personal funds to both the Internal Revenue Service and the State of New Jersey Division of Taxation on behalf of the trust.

Because the trust owed almost no taxes, this scheme generated large tax refunds that were then deposited into the trust.

Katsock then transferred these funds to accounts he controlled.

Katsock also allegedly wrote checks to himself as professional fees that far exceed any permitted by law.

He allegedly diverted funds from the trust accounts to a corporation owned by the victim and then made loans that were never repaid.

He also allegedly withdrew in excess of $50,000 in cash from one of the trust accounts and deposited the funds into his personal bank account.