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Prosecutors: Owner of shuttered Franklin County organic dairy ran $60M fraud
They say he ran a long-running fraud scheme that preyed on hundreds of Amish and Mennonite investors.
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NPR
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(Reading) — The owner of an award-winning organic dairy in central Pennsylvania that abruptly closed its doors last fall is accused of milking investors to the tune of nearly $60 million.
Philip Riehl is the majority owner of Trickling Springs Creamery in Franklin County.
Federal prosecutors call it one of the largest Pennsylvania-based alleged Ponzi schemes in history and say it preyed on hundreds of Amish and Mennonite investors. Riehl was charged this week with securities and wire fraud.
“These investors were looking for honesty and integrity when deciding where and with whom to invest their money,” said U.S. Attorney William M. McSwain. “According to the Information, Riehl presented himself as a trusted member of their religious community, only to betray that trust and swindle them out of tens of millions of dollars. It is only natural for members of a tightly knit community to want to take care of one another, but Riehl did not care about anyone but himself.”
A message seeking comment was left with his attorney Friday.
“So long as there are people with money to invest, there will be swindlers ready to take their money under false pretenses,” said Michael T. Harpster, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia Division. “But it is particularly loathsome when these criminals exploit trusting members of their own church or community.”
If convicted, Riehl faces a maximum possible sentence of 45 years in prison, a $5,500,000 fine, a 3-year term of supervised release, forfeiture, and mandatory restitution.
The Chambersburg-based creamery opened in 2001 and produced milk, cream, butter, ice cream, yogurt and cheese. The dairy’s products were sold up and down the East Coast. It announced it was ceasing operations in September 2019 and filed a bankruptcy petition in December 2019.
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