Altoona (Pennsylvania) Police Department Sergeant Matthew Starr is in a tiny bit of trouble this week for a gambling problem that led him to overcharge for overtime, steal equipment from his department, run a fence for said stolen equipment, and also steal a few grand from a GoFundMe he set up for a sick kid. At least that’s what is being reported.
[Pennsylvania State] Trooper David McGarvey said, “[Starr] would represent himself as an Altoona Police officer, and get money from individuals and businesses throughout the area. And, use that money for his own personal use.”
Starr allegedly gambled that money away. The criminal complaint alleges that Starr had a combined net loss of more than 50,000 at Rocky Gap and Rivers casinos. It also claims that Starr would say he was working overtime in Altoona, but he was actually gambling at one of the casino. He charged the city close to $9,000 worth of fraudulent overtime.
Bruh. That’s some deep issues right there. You need to work that shit out. The first step is admitting you have a problem and then step 1.2 is realizing you’re really bad at this gambling thing.
Starr is also accused of stealing funds from a GoFundMe account, that he set up for someone struggling with medical bills. The complaint alleges that he spent the money gambling and used a medical insurance check and money from others to pay a portion of it back.
We found a GoFundMe closed to donations by a Matthew Starr of Altoona, PA. Are they related? Pretty sure one could safely assume so, but we have no way of knowing since GoFundMe implemented the “this campaign is complete” scrubbing of campaign details a few months or year back. A-1 “trust and safety” feature there, GFM.
Anyway. Dude is battling ten felonies and one misdemeanor.
One local media outlet describes Starr’s predicament thusly:
Investigators say Starr carried out a several different scams over a five year period.
He is accused of trying to sell equipment that belonged to the city on Facebook. Investigators say he also stole money from a Go Fund Me Page, spending some of that money at Rocky Gap Casino.
Starr is also accused of setting up a fake tactical equipment company.
See? This is why I only play Tiny Tower Vegas. That shit is addictive but Bux aren’t real. If I overextend myself on Tiny Tower Vegas, the worst thing that happens is my thumb hurts the next day.
Video from WTAJ here (on the alleged crooked cop, not Tiny Tower Vegas).