Local community scammed out of nearly a quarter of a million dollars during paving project

ELLWOOD CITY, Pa. — A paving project in Ellwood City this summer led to the city getting scammed out of nearly a quarter of a million dollars.

Ellwood City’s Mayor told Channel 11’s Andrew Havranek everything seemed legit. The city has worked with Youngblood Paving from Wampum for years.

“The borough was scammed out of over $230,000 through a phony email account,” Mayor Anthony Court said.

This happened in late August, and Ellwood City officials were made aware last month.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation was alerted to the scam because the Liquid Fuels funds, which were transferred from Ellwood City, went to an out-of-state bank.

Now, the city says the FBI is trying to figure out who was impersonating Youngblood Paving and stole that $230,000.

People who live in Ellwood City are stunned.

“As soon as I heard that number, especially, I was like, ‘Wow. That is not just some small, little amount,” said Ella Hengelsberg, who has family in Ellwood City.

“It seems rather naive,” added Sarah Ludwig of Ellwood. “Every single administrative job I’ve ever had, you kind of have the training on phishing security and what not to click on. I feel like that something that would be, I mean, they should have education on!”

The city said Youngblood Paving still received their money and did the projects around the city they were hired to do.

Channel 11 reached out to Youngblood Paving, but they did not have any comment, citing the ongoing FBI investigation.

“Youngblood had nothing to do with this,” Mayor Court said. “That’s the world we live in now. Scams are rampant everywhere, and you’ve got to be vigilant.”

Court said Ellwood City’s insurance was notified about the scam. He and those who live in the city are hoping they can get that money back in full, and hope the scammers are found.

“I hope so. Obviously best-case scenario that would happen,” Hengelsberg said. “I definitely have some worry about it all and just hope it ends up going well and getting figured out.”

“I’m hopeful and I pray every day that this gets resolved and we get our money back,” Court said.

Channel 11 reached out to the FBI but did not hear back due to the federal government shutdown.

Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts.

Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW

©2025 Cox Media Group