Crime & Safety

2½ to 5 Years in Prison for Man Who Scammed Linny Fowler

Hassan Carmon also ordered to pay restitution; estranged wife who stole more money to be sentenced next week.

An Allentown man who worked with his wife to scam late heiress Linny Fowler out of more than $1 million was sentenced Friday to 2½ to five years in a state prison, according to published reports.

Hassan Carmon, 35, will also be on supervision for two years beyond the prison sentence and owe the full $117,000 he stole in restitution, though Judge Leonard Zito acknowledged that repayment is unlikely, according to The Express Times.

Carmon apologized and said he hoped to pay everything back “as much as possible,” the newspaper reported.

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According to authorities, Hassan and his estranged wife, Shawnta Carmon, told Fowler a series of sad lies to convince the philanthropist to give them more than $1 million over 4½ years.

Shawnta Carmon, who is scheduled for sentencing next week, is responsible for a larger amount of the theft—about $1.15 million, according to law enforcement.

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Together and separately, the Carmons gave the UPS heiress sob stories about needed dental treatment, a niece who needed college tuition and finally, a daughter who needed a heart transplant, according to a Northampton County grand jury investigation.

None of those stories were true. Instead, they spent the money on “expensive clothing, expensive jewelry, limousine transportation, travel” and gambling, both privately and in casinos in Pennsylvania, Atlantic City and Las Vegas, the grand jury alleged.

Fowler, who died on Feb. 4, left behind a legacy of philanthropy and has numerous buildings named after her in the Lehigh Valley, including the Fowler Family South Side Center of Northampton Community College in Bethlehem


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