WEST CHESTER, PA — A Berks County judge has imposed a $497,000 equitable lien on a Boyertown property tied to an elder fraud scheme that previously resulted in a Chester County court finding that an elderly woman’s longtime tax preparer and friend improperly obtained nearly $500,000 from her.
The ruling marks the latest development in litigation involving the Estate of Deborah H. Francis, whose representatives spent years tracing funds allegedly diverted by Patricia Petitti into real estate transactions.
According to Unruh Turner Burke & Frees, which represented the estate, Chester County Judge Thomas P. McCabe ruled in June 2024 that Petitti had received $492,000 from Francis under false pretenses and used the money for personal purposes. The court found Petitti stood in a fiduciary relationship with Francis as her longtime accountant and friend and was liable for fraud, conversion, breach of fiduciary duty, and constructive trust.
Judge McCabe also found that documents relevant to the litigation had been shredded while the case was pending and awarded the estate $5,000 in attorney’s fees and costs related to the destruction of evidence.
Following that ruling, attorneys for the estate pursued a separate action in Berks County after tracing the funds into a series of real estate transactions, including property at 500 E. Philadelphia Ave. in Boyertown.
According to the firm, Berks County Judge James E. Gavin found that Patricia Petitti transferred her equitable interest in the property to Christopher Petitti in January 2022 with the intent to hinder, delay, or defraud the estate as a creditor.
The court voided the transfer under Pennsylvania’s voidable transactions law and imposed an equitable lien of $497,000 on the property, along with pre- and post-judgment interest. The court further determined that funds used to purchase the Boyertown property were traceable to money owed to the estate.
“This case was about following stolen money and stopping an effort to hide it in real estate,” attorney James Dalton said in a statement. “We traced the funds, challenged the transfer, and secured a result that gives the Estate a real path to recovery.”
Attorney Daniel Yarnall described the litigation as a financial investigation in which records ultimately established where the money went and why the property transfer could not stand.
The rulings conclude a yearslong effort by the estate to recover funds that courts found had been diverted from Francis and transferred into real property. The Berks County decision preserves the estate’s ability to seek recovery from the Boyertown property despite the attempted transfer.
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