South Strabane woman sentenced in theft
A South Strabane Township woman was sentenced to six to 23 months in Washington County jail after stealing more than $163,000 from a local attorney.
Rana Ranalli, 52, of Mitchell Road, appeared before Judge Valarie Costanzo Friday morning.
Ranalli pleaded guilty Sept. 29, 2021, to one count of forgery and one count of theft by unlawful taking, both felonies. She had been facing 156 forgery charges.
She worked as the office manager for Washington attorney Timothy Berggren between 2015 and 2019. Berggren confronted Ranalli about unauthorized bank transfers in September 2019, after which she never returned to work.
Washington police found that Ranalli had forged her signature on 156 checks totaling $163,325.74.
Berggren took the stand at Friday’s sentencing to provide a victim impact statement to the court.
“She’s admitted to being a thief and a liar and stealing $163,000 from me over a five-year period,” Berggren said.
According to Berggren’s statement, some of the money Ranalli took came from a personal injury settlement for his mother after she was hit by a car.
“She told me she was paying my bills,” Berggren said.
Berggren’s credit score plummeted, and he had credit cards and other services canceled. He said this year he received a tax form for an outstanding $12,000 debt.
“I’m paying taxes on money, even this year, on money she stole from me,” Berggren said.
He added: “I went almost a year without a paycheck, living off my savings because of what she stole.”
Berggren said to date, he has received no apology or restitution from Ranalli.
Ranalli, who represented herself in court, had the opportunity to express remorse prior to sentencing, and apologized to Berggren from the stand.
“It was never my intention to hurt anyone. To Tim, I want to tell you I’m sorry. I know that you can’t forgive me, or won’t forgive me, and I’m not going to ask for forgiveness. But I have true remorse for what I did,” Ranalli said.
Ranalli claimed she had not apologized or offered to pay back Berggren after her previous attorney advised her not to, and was unaware she could begin paying restitution before the case concluded.
For Berggren, the apology rang hollow.
“For three years she has shown no remorse. She has never attempted to contact me. As much money as she stole, she hasn’t paid one dime back,” Berggren said following the sentencing. He added that he did not believe her claims about her attorney’s advice.
Costanzo was also skeptical of the last-minute apology.
“The court is not sure this is actually genuine,” Costanzo said before handing down the sentence.
In addition to jail time, Costanzo also sentenced Ranalli to eight years’ probation following her release and 100 hours of community service. She will also have to pay restitution to Berggren.