Sweeten tied to $100,000 mystery mortgage

Federal and Pennsylvania officials probing theft allegations against Bonnie Sweeten have been asked to investigate a $100,000 loan that the purported borrower - Sweeten's former boss - says she knew nothing about.

No theft charges have been filed against Sweeten, the Bucks County paralegal who last month faked her abduction only to turn up the next day at Walt Disney World. But police are investigating reports that Sweeten, 38, may have stolen hundreds of thousands of dollars from relatives and from the law office of Debbie Carlitz, her longtime employer.

Carlitz contends that she had nothing to do with a $100,000 business mortgage loan, dated Sept. 21, 2006, that was taken out in her name and the name of her husband, Stuart.

That loan is in default, and a Huntingdon Valley lender is seeking a judgment in excess of $114,000 - including interest, penalties, and other fees - against Carlitz in Bucks County Court.

Oddly, the judgment documents list Carlitz's address as being on Saxon Drive in Feasterville, at the address of the $425,000 home of Sweeten.

"The Carlitzes did not take out this mortgage and are currently investigating how this occurred without their knowledge," said Ellen C. Brotman, a Philadelphia attorney for Debbie Carlitz. "The matter is also being referred to the appropriate law enforcement authorities."

Through Brotman, Carlitz declined to be interviewed for this article.

On May 26, Sweeten made national headlines when she called 911, frantically claiming to have been abducted with her 9-year-old daughter by two men in Lower Bucks County. It was a hoax; she and the girl were found the next day at Disney World, where Sweeten had flown using another woman's driver's license as identification.

She is awaiting trial on charges of identity theft and making false reports.

Sweeten's lawyer, Louis Busico, declined to comment specifically on Carlitz's allegation.

"The appropriate and professional thing to do is to remain silent on this subject until the investigation is concluded," Busico said. "But I will say this: Long-standing banking history, as well as common sense, indicates that banks are not in the habit of giving out six-figure checks without proper identification and verification as to who is getting their money."

Bucks County District Attorney Michelle Henry said federal investigators and county detectives had met with Carlitz and were looking into all allegations. Henry said she could not comment specifically on the mortgage controversy.

Brotman said Carlitz had known nothing about the loan or the default until an Inquirer reporter called this week to ask about it. Brotman said the couple had received no default or late-payment notices that would have alerted them.

Mortgage documents on file in Bucks County specify that any notices pertaining to the loan be sent to the Carlitzes' home near New Hope. But when the lender went to court June 8 to seek a judgment, the complaint listed Sweeten's home as Carlitz's address.

Describing the Carlitzes as "stunned and upset," Brotman said she knew of no other questionable loans taken out in the couple's names, "but I'm extremely concerned."

Lois A. Matthews, a Montgomery County notary public whose name appears as a witness on the loan documents, declined to comment or to verify that the signature on the paperwork is hers.

"I don't think I can comment on anything without talking to the underwriter," Matthews said. "Privacy issues preclude me from giving any information."

Gelt Financial Corp. made the loan as an adjustable-rate mortgage secured by Carlitz's former law-firm building on Bustleton Avenue in Feasterville. Sweeten had worked many years as a paralegal for Carlitz, who considered her a close friend.

The personal-injury law office closed last year after Carlitz's license was suspended for one year and one day. She was disciplined for practicing law while ineligible, having not fulfilled her continuing legal-education requirements.

Axel A. Shield II, an attorney for Gelt Financial, said Carlitz had left him a voice-mail message Tuesday. "She basically said that she didn't sign the documents, and that they were forged," he said.

"What actually happened, I can't say. I wasn't there," Shield said. "It's now in litigation, and it will be resolved."