Crime & Safety

Woman Pleads Guilty to $1M Scam of Linny Fowler

Shawnta Carmon could spend up to 19 years in prison for bilking late UPS heiress with lies about family needs and illnesses.

A woman accused of scamming late UPS heiress Marlene “Linny” Fowler out of more than $1 million pleaded guilty to charges against her in Northampton County Court on Monday, according to published reports.

Shawnta Carmon, 32, of Allentown faces up to 19 years in prison, according to The Morning Call.

Quoting Carmon’s attorney, the newspaper reported that Carmon and Fowler had a real friendship, but Carmon’s gambling addiction led her to betray her generous and wealthy friend.

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Shawnta Carmon bilked more than $1.15 million from Fowler during a four-and-a-half-year period that started in January 2008 and ended more than a year ago, according to a nine-page grand jury presentment.

Carmon concocted a variety of stories—she needed dental work, her niece needed college tuition, her daughter needed a heart transplant—to convince Fowler to give her money. All of them turned out to be lies.

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Instead, the money was used on “expensive clothing, expensive jewelry, limousine transportation, travel” and gambling, both privately and in casinos in Pennsylvania, Atlantic City and Las Vegas.

Carmon’s alleged co-conspirator, Hassan Carmon, was due to go to trial today but has not been assigned a judge, according to The Express Times.

Hassan and Shawnta Carmon are married but separated. Hassan Carmon is accused of stealing more than $100,000 from Fowler using similar methods as his wife.

Shawnta Carmon is scheduled for sentencing on Nov. 22, the newspaper reported.

Fowler, who died on Feb. 4, left a legacy of philanthropy and has numerous buildings and rooms named after her in the Lehigh Valley, including the Fowler Family South Side Center of Northampton Community College and the Fowler Blast Furnace Room at the ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks.


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