Two men managed to steal several thousand dollars from the State of Pennsylvania by filing fraudulent claims for unclaimed property.

Stefan Arteaga-Pizenbauer, 37, of Levittown, PA., and Luis Maura, 26, of Hamilton, were both recently sentenced to 364 days in the county jail and three years of probation, respectively, for stealing unclaimed funds from the state in 2006.

Unclaimed funds are property that have been unclaimed by its rightful over for a specified period of time, as determined by the by statute. To prove ownership and claim the property, an individual is required to file a form with the Division of Taxation.

Arteaga-Pitzenbauer was a technical assistant with the Division of Taxation and had the authority to approve claims under $1,000 without approval from a supervisor. After Maura filed the claims in his own name or the names of four other men, Arteaga-Pitzenbauer approved the claims and the state subsequently issued payment checks in the names of the claimants.

The two schemed to steal $8,584 from the government by creating and approving payment of these fraudulent claims.

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