Restitution for Victim in Fraudulent Transaction at South Hills Village Parking Lot

A Bethel Park man charged with theft by deception, among other offenses, for a transaction in a South Hills Village parking lot agreed on Monday to pay $300 in restitution and return to face district Judge Robert C. Wyda in late August, according to court documents.

William Neal Willard, 36, of Meadowbrook Drive is also charged with deceptive or fraudulent business practices and with trademark counterfeiting after an Upper St. Clair Township police officer met Willard at the South Hills Village Target lot on May 30.

The officer went to that parking lot at around 4:05 p.m. that day in response to a possible fraud/theft report. When the officer arrived, he was told by a woman claiming to be a victim of Willard's that she purchased a popular name-brand cellphone from Willard in that parking lot about two weeks prior, according to court documents.

She made contact with Willard on Craigslist, she said, and paid him $300 for the phone. However, the phone had recently stopped working, she said, and she believed it to be counterfeit.

The officer reported that the phone's packaging had markings on it for "Samsuvg" instead of "Samsung" and "Calaxy Note 2" instead of "Galaxy Note 2."

While giving her report to the officer on May 30, the victim set up a fake transaction with Willard for the same parking lot that same day, and Willard did arrive at the lot shortly after, according to court documents.

The officer then searched Willard, who admitted that he was there to sell a cellphone, police report, and found in his possession two of the same type of phones that were sold to the victim. Willard was arrested, and the phones were confiscated.

Should Willard satisfy the restitution, his charges will be reduced to a summary disorderly conduct charge, according to court documents.