Donora man charged with using mafia threat to scam money from woman

A former basketball standout at Ringgold High School and Indiana University of Pennsylvania was charged Tuesday for allegedly scamming an elderly woman out of her life savings.
Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced the arrest of Yancey D. Taylor, 45, of Donora, for using an investment scheme to steal about $159,000 from a 69-year-old Lancaster County woman.
Taylor, who played for six years in the German Federal International Basketball Association, allegedly led the victim to believe she would face retaliation from the mafia if she did not continue to give him money.
Taylor used the money to gamble at various casinos in Pennsylvania, Shapiro said.
“This scam artist preyed on an elderly woman and stole her life savings,” Shapiro said in a news release. “He came into her life, gained her trust, and then abused that trust to fuel his own greed and gambling habit. We will not tolerate those who scam our seniors. We’re here to protect them.”
Taylor had a stellar high school basketball career, then played at IUP, where he was part of the most successful basketball run in the program’s history. After playing professionally in Germany, he returned to Ringgold in 2003 and ran a free basketball camp for kids. He was nominated for a seat on Donora Council in the recent primary.
According to Shapiro, Taylor first met the victim, Karen Fedrow, a retired longtime educator from Lancaster, in 2012 when Taylor rented a home from her that she owned in Westmoreland County. Shapiro said Taylor helped Fedrow recover funds owed to her by a previous tenant, gaining her trust.
Eventually, Taylor told the retiree of an investment opportunity in which she would earn money and receive a guaranteed return. Fedrow began investing money with Taylor, who told her she had to keep investing more funds or her initial investment would be lost. Shapiro said she began giving Taylor money in installments.
In June 2013, Fedrow reportedly withdrew $18,000 over a five-day period and gave it to Taylor.
Shapiro said Taylor told his victim that her investments had accrued fees that were owed to someone known as “the Boss.” At other times, he allegedly told her the mafia was involved, and that both he and Fedrow had to answer to “the Boss.” Fedrow grew suspicious over time, and then became fearful when she received strange calls from people who threatened her and directed her to keep giving Taylor money, Shapiro said.
Fedrow testified before the grand jury that the only person she ever met or paid money to was Taylor. Between February and August 2013, Fedrow reportedly gave Taylor about $159,000. She took out loans against her home and liquidated her life’s savings, Shapiro said.
Taylor was charged with theft by deception and theft by extortion, second-degree felonies with a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $25,000 fine.