Cops, Courts & Fire -Bensalem Township

Bensalem Con Artist who Caregiver Who Faked Cancer Diagnosis Stole from Patients and Families Sentenced

Published

2 years ago

July 11, 2024

staff

A 48-year-old woman was sentenced on Wednesday for stealing thousands of dollars in money and heirloom jewelry from the families of two elderly women she cared for and then submitting fake medical documents claiming to have stage 4 esophageal cancer so that she could delay her trial.

Shannon Lynn Eberhartof Bensalem, also pleaded guilty today to the charges of unlawful use of a computer and two counts of identity theft related to the submission of fraudulent documentation. In March, she pleaded guilty to two counts of financial exploitation of an older adult or care dependent person, theft by unlawful taking, and receiving stolen property, and one count each of identity theft and access device fraud.

Common Pleas Judge Gary B. Gilman sentenced Eberhart to one year minus a day to two years minus a day in the Bucks County Correctional Facility, followed by a consecutive sentence of 11 years of probation. He called her actions “despicable and unfathomable,” and an unending betrayal to those who trusted her.

“You are nothing but a con artist who deceived the people who cared for you,” he said. “You betrayed every cancer patient, you betrayed the court system, you betrayed your attorney,” said Gilman, who questioned whether Eberhart’s courtroom tears were real, or just another of her deceptions.

In addition to her jail and probation rerquire4ment6s , Gilman ordered Eberhart to pay $32,835 in restitution to three victims, undergo mental health and drug and alcohol treatment and never again work as a caregiver.

Eberhart was initially charged in late February 2023 following an investigation by the Newtown Township Police Department that revealed that she stole jewelry and cash from two women she worked for as a caretaker. Additionally, the investigation found that Eberhart made unauthorized withdrawals from one of the victim’s bank accounts.

Deputy District Attorney Marc J. Furber said shortly after being employed, Eberhart started stealing from right under their noses.

“It was not about the monetary value,” he said. “These were pieces of heirloom jewelry handed down from generation to generation, now gone.”

Eberhart waived her preliminary hearing and formal arraignment, and the case was scheduled for pre-trial conference on three different occasions. A month before a scheduled court hearing in December 2023, the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office received a medical document from Eberhart’s public defender, who had received it from Eberhart to support her continuance request.

The letter, which appeared to have come from a Montgomery County hospital, claimed Eberhart had stage 4 esophageal cancer and needed further treatment.

Bucks County detectives contacted the two doctors named in the letter and both said they never authored the letter and never treated Eberhart. Representatives of the hospital also confirmed that the letter was fake and contained several inaccuracies, including the official name of the hospital and its logo. The two doctors named in the letter also never worked at their hospital.

The investigation by Bucks County Detectives found that the letter was clearly written using a computer, as it contained a digitally created logo and headers, footers, and margins. Additionally, the investigation found that Eberhart emailed the fake letter to her attorney, who in turn submitted the letter to the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office.

The families of the victims gave impact statements about how Eberhart’s deceitfulness affected them, not just financially, but emotionally. Both families knew and trusted Eberhart before she was hired to work as a caregiver for their elderly mothers. During their brief time working for the families, they grew to care for her.

One of the families said they grieved with Eberhart and gave her flowers and condolences when she told them her mother passed away, but that was another of her shameful lies. Eberhart’s mother was in court on Wednesday.

“Shannon’s actions here are unforgivable,” one of the victims said. “These pieces of jewelry tell stories of my family, past and present, and can never be replaced.”

Deputy District Attorney Marc Furber called the “theft from the elderly, especially by people entrusted to care for them,” a major problem.

“The Defendant compounded her crimes against the elderly by attempting to continue her manipulation in the Court system. She failed, but not for lack of trying,” he said. “This case should be a lesson to those who are in positions of trust for elderly or disabled individuals. That trust should be upheld at all costs. If you make the decision to violate that trust, you will be caught, you will go to jail and further attempts to manipulate the legal system will fail.”

“The effects of elder financial abuse are incredibly tragic and long lasting for the victims and their families,” Furber said. “But if there was one bright spot to the Defendant’s actions, it is that those actions demonstrated the strength of our legal system in Bucks County. We are ready to combat falsity, dishonesty and misinformation with the shining light of truth and justice.”

These cases were investigated by Detectives with the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office, Newtown Township Police Department and Warminster Township Police Department. They were prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Marc J. Furber, Chief of Insurance Fraud and Economic Crimes.

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Cops, Courts & Fire -Bensalem Township

NJ Man Has Aggravated Assault Charges of Police Held Over for Trial

Published

13 hours ago

March 7, 2026

Jo Ames & Jeff Bohen

A Millville, New Jersey man accused of stealing a vehicle and subsequently striking a Bensalem Police officer last year, when attempting to flee a traffic stop had all of his charges held over for trial at preliminary hearing last week.

Late last month Magisterial District Judge Michael W. Gallagher ruled there was enough evidence presented by the Commonwealth to sustain two felony counts of aggravated assault, felony fleeing, felony theft and related offenses filed against Devit Sanchez of New Jersey.

According to the probable cause, on Friday, August 8, 2025, Bensalem Township Police conducted a stolen vesicle investigation at the Sunoco Gas Station, located at 1432 Street Road, The stolen vehicle was identified as a 2020 Acura ILX. white in color, bearing NIN97NMP, The vehicle is listed in NCIC as stolen out of Mount Laurel, NJ. Police were alerted to the stolen vehicle traveling in the area of Bensalem Twp.

Police saw the stolen vehicle at the gas pumps of the Sunoco Station and a male entering the driver’s seat.

Officers pulled behind the stolen vehicle af the gas pumps and another Bensalem officer pulled in front of it, and the driver reversed the allegedly stolen vehicle rammed a patrol car causing the officer’s head to hit the interior roof.

Sanchez then fled the Sunoco Station at a high rate of speed traveling Eastbound on Street Rd. Bensalem officers pursued the vehicle that fled onto Northbound I-95 exceeding speeds of over 100 mph. The pursuit was eventually terminated and the vehicle got away.

Surveillance footage from the Sunoco Gas Station was obtained by the Bensalem Police, court records show.

Investigators circulated the video surveillance to other police agencies and to the public depicting the stolen vehicle and driver. Through investigation, a suspect was developed, identified as Sanchez, according to the probable cause.

On October 7 , Police conducted an interview with Sanchez in which he allegedly admitted he was the driver of the stolen vehicle in this incident that hit an officer’s police car and fled.

An arrest warrant was issued on January 27 for Sanchez and he was arrested on Feb. 2.

Sanchez remains in County Jail unable to post bond although a county judge reduced his his bail to half of the original set, to 10 percent of $100,000.00

He is scheduled for a formal arraignment in Doylestown on March 13 and is legally represented by the Bucks County Public Defender’s Office.

No trial date has been set as of publication time

Cops, Courts & Fire -Bensalem Township

Cops: Motorist Driving “Erratically” on Street Rd Arrested for Fleeing, DUI

Published

5 days ago

March 3, 2026

Jeff Bohen

A Langhorne woman spent a day in jail after she fled Bensalem Police who observed her driving erratically on Street Road last month locating the vehicle and its owner, ironically on the same block of funeral home.

According to the probable cause filing, on Saturday, Feb. 28, at approximately 10:23 p.m. Police were on routine patrol in the area of 3000 Street Road when officers observed a sliver Ford Explorer bearing a Pennsylvania registration MHS-**** driving erratically. Police attempted to initiate a traffic stop by activating lights and sirens.

The motorist, police said, fled west on Street Road at a high rate of speed.

Police in court papers said, the driver passed multiple vehicles on the right side and then ran through multiple steady red lights. Police lost track of the Explorer in the area of Street Road and Public Safety Way.

At approximately 11:35 p.m. police found the vehicle in the rear of 4737 East Street Road in Bensalem Twp.

Police initiated a second traffic stop by activating lights and sirens with back-up officers surrounding the Explorer so the motorist could not speed away again.

Police made contact with the driver and sole occupant, who was identified as 50 year-old Paige Holwood.

Holwood had bloodshot, glassy eyes, and the odor of an alcoholic beverage emanating from her person which increased as she spoke. She was unsteady on her feet when she got out of the vehicle, according to coure papers.

Police came to the conclusion that she could not operate a motor vehicle safely, said the probable cause.

Holwood was transported back to Police Headquarters where she was read the implied consent form in its entirety and refused to submit to a blood test, the arresting officer said.

On-Call District Judge John T. Galloway arraigned Holwood in the early morning hours of Sunday on a felony charge of fleeing police, DUI and four related traffic offenses.

Galloway set bail at 10 percent of $25,000 and Holwood, unable to post bail, was remanded to County Jail. She paid the 10 percent on Monday and released. Holwood’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for March 26. Currently, she has no attorney of record, according to online court records.

Cops, Courts & Fire -Bensalem Township

Bensalem House Fire Kills One Woman, One Man Injured

Published

5 days ago

March 3, 2026

Jeff Bohen

A early morning Tuesday fire in Bensalem took the life of one woman and firefighters were able to rescue a man, community sources told Lower Bucks Source.

Bensalem fire companies were dispatched for the reports of a dwelling fire in the 2900 of Bellview Drive at around 2:45 a.m with possible entrapment.

Police officers on scene reported two residents were unaccounted for and believed to be inside. Fire crews initiated an aggressive quick search and attack of the fire, where a male was immediately located by the doorway, Bensalem Volunteer Fire Department, officials said.

The woman killed in the fire was located shortly thereafter, fire officials said.

Firefighters arrived to find heavy smoke and flames coming from the home, officials said.

An on scene witness said they saw a man was taken to the hospital by Bensalem EMS. His condition is unknown as of publication time.

The identity of the woman killed in the blaze has not been released

The fire caused the closure of Bellview Dr, from Morrow Drive to the entrance of Faust Elementary for several hours.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation of the fire marshal’s office.

“The thoughts and prayers of our entire department go out to the family and friends of those affected by this tragedy. It’s a sad day for our Nottingham Village families” said Bensalem Volunteer Fire Dept officials.