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Wilkes-Barre council approves outside review of police force

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Alleged sister-killer’s case continued indefinitely

<p>SCRANTON &#8212; A Hazleton realtor has been sentenced to more than four years in prison on wire fraud offenses after he sold and accepted money for properties he didn&#8217;t have the legal authority to sell.</p><p>Ignacio Beato, 46, must serve 51 months behind bars followed by three months of supervised release. He pleaded guilty to the charges against him earlier this year.</p><p>Beato was also ordered to pay restitution amounting to $65,000.</p><p>Beato was charged after he sold foreclosed and Federal Housing Administration properties in the Hazleton area &#8212; properties he did not own. Beato and unidentified co-conspirators used cell phones to arrange purchases with out-of-state buyers.</p><p>Beato made the sales between December 2013 and March 2015, accepting $751,082 from buyers who believed they were purchasing homes.</p><p>Some of Beato&#8217;s victims have filed civil lawsuits in attempts to recoup their money, while others could not be contacted so they could be included in the restitution order.</p><p>Beato already had $35,000 forfeited from his bank accounts by the Internal Revenue Service.</p><p>He was initially apprehended in Orange County, Florida, after Pennsylvania State Police issued a warrant for his arrest in November 2015. Another warrant was issued after he failed to appear at a hearing in January 2016.</p><p>Beato was then caught by U.S. Marshals in February 2016 at an apartment complex in Seminole County, Florida.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Ignacio Beato is shown at a previous court appearance in Hazleton. He was sentenced to more than four years in prison Thursday after pleading guilty to a wire fraud offense for selling properties in the Hazleton area he did not have the authority to sell. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/web1_web1_web1_TTL032216Beato1-1-3.jpg</photo0><caption0>Ignacio Beato is shown at a previous court appearance in Hazleton. He was sentenced to more than four years in prison Thursday after pleading guilty to a wire fraud offense for selling properties in the Hazleton area he did not have the authority to sell. </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Patrick Kernan</p><p>pkernan@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Patrick Kernan at 570-991-6386 or on Twitter @PatKernan</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Hazleton realtor sentenced to more than four years in prison