Clarion County Man Seth Aikens II Convicted on 30 Counts for Defrauding Software Customers

Published Oct. 20, 2026. Case status is current as of that date.

Hiring someone to build an app or a piece of software means trusting claims you often can't check: that they have done this before, that they have big-name clients, that the project is on track. According to federal prosecutors in Pittsburgh, a Clarion County man made all of those claims to customers, backed them with fabricated documents, and kept asking for more money.

On Oct. 14, 2026, a federal jury in Pittsburgh found Seth Allen Aikens II, 29, of Crown, Pennsylvania, guilty of 17 counts of wire fraud, seven counts of mail fraud and six counts of money laundering after a week-and-a-half trial before U.S. District Judge W. Scott Hardy, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania announced. The jury deliberated for just under two hours [1][2].

Status: Convicted by a jury on 30 counts; sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 17, 2027 [1]. The law provides for a maximum total sentence of up to 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, or both, according to the release.

How the scheme worked

According to the evidence presented at trial, as described by prosecutors [1]:

1. The businesses. Between 2016 and 2020, Aikens operated several purported businesses in Clarion County that offered software design, production and other services.
2. The credentials. He falsely claimed to have the expertise and capabilities to provide those services.
3. The fake references. He gave prospective clients fictitious documents showing business relationships with well-known, reputable companies.
4. The fake wealth. He provided bank statements that falsely showed account balances in the millions of dollars, which he said came from past projects.
5. The extra fees. He demanded additional money from clients for various fees.
6. The stall. He made "lulling statements" to deceive clients about the status of their projects, along with "numerous other false representations."

Customers paid using interstate wires, the U.S. mail and private carriers. Aikens used customers' money to buy personal vehicles and equipment, including a number of items costing more than $10,000, the evidence showed [1].

The release does not give the total amount customers lost, the number of customers, or the names of the businesses.

The person convicted

Seth Allen Aikens II, 29, of Crown, Pa. Convicted by a jury Oct. 14, 2026. Sentencing is set for Feb. 17, 2027 [1][2]. A jury verdict can be challenged through post-trial motions and appeal.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Barbara K. Doolittle and Eleni F. Skezas prosecuted the case. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service and Homeland Security Investigations investigated [1].

Why this kind of fraud works

Small businesses and entrepreneurs who need custom software often lack the technical background to judge a developer's work, so they rely on signals: a portfolio, client names, a confident pitch and evidence that the developer is financially stable. Each of those signals was faked in this case, prosecutors said, from documents suggesting relationships with well-known companies to bank statements showing millions of dollars.

Software projects also have built-in cover for delay. Missed deadlines, "unexpected" technical problems and requests for extra money are common even in honest projects, which makes lulling statements easy to believe for a long time.

Red flags

• Big-name client claims you can't verify, or letters and contracts from famous companies that arrive only through the contractor.
• Bank statements offered as proof of success. Legitimate developers rarely need to show you their bank balance.
• New "fees" after the contract is signed that weren't in the original quote.
• Progress reports with nothing to show. No working demo, code or test version, just updates.
• Payment demanded up front for most or all of the project.

What to do

1. Verify references yourself. Contact the companies a developer names using contact information you find independently, and ask whether they actually worked with them.
2. Pay in milestones tied to deliverables you can test, and keep a written contract that spells out costs and deadlines.
3. Ask for access to the work in progress, such as a code repository or test build, from the start.
4. Check public records for the business name and the owner's name, including lawsuits and complaints.
5. If you've been defrauded, report it to your state attorney general, the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov, the FBI's IC3 at ic3.gov, and, if you paid by mail or a private carrier, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service at uspis.gov/report.

Case status (as of Oct. 20, 2026)

Defendant	Court	Status as of Oct. 20, 2026	Source
Seth Allen Aikens II, 29, Crown, Pa.	Federal, W.D. Pa.	Found guilty by jury Oct. 14, 2026, on 17 counts of wire fraud, 7 counts of mail fraud and 6 counts of money laundering; sentencing set for Feb. 17, 2027	[1], [2]

Statuses can change.

Sources

1. U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Pennsylvania, "Federal Jury Finds Clarion County Man Guilty on 30 Counts of Money Laundering and Wire and Mail Fraud," Oct. 15, 2026. https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdpa/pr/federal-jury-finds-clarion-county-man-guilty-30-counts-money-laundering-and-wire-and
2. exploreClarion, Brock Jordan, "Federal Jury Finds Clarion County Man Guilty on 30 Federal Charges in Customer Fraud Scheme," Oct. 15, 2026. https://www.exploreclarion.com/crime/2026/10/15/federal-jury-finds-clarion-county-man-guilty-on-30-federal-charges-in-customer-fraud-scheme-877413/

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