Pennsylvania House Cleaner Admits to Forging 636 Checks, Stealing Nearly $1.9 Million

Emily Roberts, a 55-year-old house cleaner from Monessen, Pennsylvania, has pleaded guilty to bank fraud after admitting to siphoning nearly $1.9 million from a couple’s joint PNC Bank account. Between January 2014 and March 2023, Roberts forged 636 checks drawn on the couple's account.

Roberts took blank checks from the couple's checkbook, wrote them out to cash, and forged the couple's signatures. The amounts often reached $3,000, and each check was honored by PNC Bank, resulting in significant losses for the couple.

Roberts was charged with one count of bank fraud on October 2, 2023, and is scheduled for sentencing on February 10, 2027. Bank fraud can carry a sentence of up to 30 years in prison and fines reaching $1 million or double the amount gained from the crime.

The case was investigated by the FBI and the North Strabane Township Police Department. Art’s Cleaning, the company Roberts worked for, advises homeowners to secure checkbooks, keys, cash, and jewelry before allowing cleaners into their homes.