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VFW commander indicted for fraud
Harford County -
A Harford County VFW official was arrested Wednesday for allegedly defrauding more than 50 of his fellow veterans by soliciting a half-million dollars for a veteran’s center that never came. Allen Wayne Shatto, the 60-year-old District 5 commander of the Maryland Veterans of Foreign Wars, was indicted Oct. 16 on 110 charges ranging from theft to conspiracy and forgery for allegedly scamming donations from other veterans, who believed they were contributing to a new VFW facility, said Harford County State’s Attorney Joe Cassilly. “Nothing was being done to even begin this project. It was a complete fiction,” Cassilly said. Shatto collected almost $500,000 in donations from at least 50 people, Cassilly said, though the exact number of victims may be hard to determine because some vets pooled donations from other people before giving the money to Shatto. Shatto then diverted the money for his own use, Cassilly said. The case is being investigated by the State’s Attorney’s office and prosecuted by Assistant State’s Attorney Bruce Smith. Officials from the VFW were not available for comment. Shatto will have a bond hearing in the Harford County Circuit Court on Friday. |