Wexford woman gets probation and house arrest for failure to pay taxes

The owner of a now-defunct Fox Chapel business will serve three years probation, including six months on house arrest, after she was sentenced on Wednesday for failing to pay both personal and business taxes.

Shelley L. Fant, 52, of Wexford was sentenced before U.S. District Judge W. Scott Hardy.

In addition to probation, Fant must also pay just under $660,000 in restitution.

Fant operated FCG Solutions, a local contract personnel firm.

According to federal prosecutors, Fant failed to collect and pay over FICA taxes to the IRS from 2016 to 2018. In addition, she failed to file personal income tax returns.

Fant was indicted on 16 counts in May 2021. She pleaded guilty to two counts on Aug. 30.

Fant previously served as a senior attorney at the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh and served on several boards, including the Holy Family Institute’s foundation and the board of managers of the former Shuman Juvenile Detention Center.

According to court documents, the recommended sentencing guidelines called for a prison term of 24 to 30 months.

However, her attorney argued to the court that incarceration was unnecessary.

“Despite opinions to the contrary, as indicated by her 20-year career as an entrepreneur and law-abiding citizen, Shelley has demonstrated commitment to community, public service and volunteerism,” her attorney, Michael DeRiso, wrote in his sentencing memo. “At the conclusion of this chapter of her life, Shelley hopes to maintain employment as a recruiter and reaffirm her familial bonds and friendships.”