Two Bucks County men have been convicted for their involvement in a scheme to steal a deceased man’s home from his family and defraud the City of Philadelphia, as well as creditors through a bankruptcy scheme.
United States Attorney Jacqueline Romero announced the convictions following a federal jury’s decision on Friday. Alan Kane, 59, from Jamison, was found guilty of bankruptcy fraud and making false statements to the FBI, while Derrell Johnson, 42, from Bensalem, was convicted of making false statements to the FBI.
The charges arose from an indictment issued in January that implicated Kane, Johnson, and co-defendant Jonathan Barger, 55, from Huntingdon Valley, in three distinct fraud schemes. These included the attempted theft of a home from a deceased man’s family, a scheme to defraud the City of Philadelphia regarding property taxes, and a fraudulent bankruptcy filing intended to deceive creditors.
Barger, who was involved in all three schemes, pleaded guilty to all charges in June.
Kane, an attorney, has been suspended from practicing law in Pennsylvania since April 2023. According to Romero’s office, Kane initially represented Joseph Ruggiero, who died in 2020 after unlawfully acquiring a home from a deceased individual’s family. Kane knowingly made false claims that Ruggiero had legitimate title to the stolen property, despite being aware that the deeds transferring ownership were fraudulent.