A Shelocta man has been convicted of trying to steal over $1 million.
59-year-old Boyd Watson was convicted on charges of theft by deception, receiving stolen property, and attempted theft by deception. Indiana County District Attorney Robert Manzi said that in March of 2021, Watson had opened a business account with a local bank after reportedly starting a collections business one month earlier. After two months of inactivity, Watson had over $1 million diverted to that business account, but it was quickly determined that the deposits were fraudulent. Before this could be caught, he had already withdrawn $5000. He later contacted Indiana Borough Police and said that while he stole the money, he had no intention of returning it.
In a statement, Manzi said that he appreciated the work of the investigators. It took a jury less than an hour to come to the verdict. Watson will be sentenced on March 15th of 2024.
