Judge upholds Buckingham socialite’s jail term, cuts $10m insurance payment
For the second time in two years, a judge has ordered Buckingham socialite Claire Risoldi to start serving her jail sentence for her conviction in a $13 million insurance fraud scheme.
But Risoldi still isn’t expected to turn herself in for at least another year, depending on what an appeals court decides.
The 74-year-old Buckingham resident did get some good news Friday at her first court appearance since she was sentenced in 2019 to serve 11-½ to 23 months in Bucks County jail.
She no longer has to repay insurer AIG $10.42 million to pay back fire-related claims it paid the family for a 2013 fire at the estate that bears her name.
A Pennsylvania Superior Court last August agreed with Risoldi’s claim that not all her insurance claims were fraudulent, and that the trial court overstepped its bounds when it ordered her to repay $7 million in legitimate claims. The trial court cited her fraud convictions as voiding the entire homeowner’s policy.
A jury found that she was paid $2.75 million for false claims.
Look back:Buckingham socialite Claire Risoldi convicted of filing $13M in false insurance claims
Under an agreement submitted on Friday, the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office accepted the $722,978, the net proceeds from the 2019 sale of the 10-acre “Clairemont” estate, as full restitution.
The Stony Hill Road property served as the centerpiece of the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s 2015 fraud case against Risoldi and members of her family. The New York City investment company that bought it at auction has fully restored the home, now called Camelot Court. It is up for sale with a $3.2 million asking price.
The remaining Risoldi assets seized in 2015 — $490,000 in a bank account and the Buckingham home where Claire Risoldi now lives — will be returned to the family.
The restitution change was the only issue that sent the case back to the court on Friday. But that didn’t stop her defense attorney, Michael Diamondstein, from requesting the judge consider petitions to reduce the jail sentence for Risoldi, who walked into court using a hot pink walker and wearing a black face mask, her blonde mane fashioned in a messy up-do.
Diamondstein argued the original jail sentence is illegal because the previous judge assigned the case failed to address if Risoldi was eligible for re-entry, which would allow her to be released from jail early.
Diamondstein added that Berks County Senior Judge Stephen Lieberman, who is now overseeing the case, has authority to reconsider the sentence made by the previous judge, who retired last year.
Inside Clairemont:Going … going … Clairemont is sold
Chester County Senior Judge Thomas Gavin oversaw Risoldi’s trial and sentencing. He was assigned the case after Bucks County’s judges recused themselves, citing potential conflicts of interest with Risoldi, a prominent Republican fundraiser.
But Senior Deputy Attorney General Linda Montag noted that in his 125 pages of sentencing notes, Gavin made it clear he considered house arrest, but opted for incarceration.
At the 2019 sentencing, Gavin emphasized that he did not want his sentence to make it appear that crime pays, and that Risoldi should serve some jail time.
Montag added that even if Risoldi was re-entry eligible, she’d still have to serve 8 ½ months in jail before she could be considered for parole.
“Our position is, she start to serve it,” she added.
Lieberman sided with prosecutors, telling Diamondstein he did not believe he had the authority to “substantially change” another judge’s sentence.
“I think Judge Gavin’s reasoning was well thought out,” Lieberman added.
He denied the petition seeking immediate parole and house confinement for Risoldi. He ordered her to turn herself into the jail on Aug. 2, unless she files an appeal in which she will remain free on bail.
After the hearing, Diamondstein confirmed his client will be filing an appeal.
In 2019, Risoldi served a 30-day jail sentence for a contempt of court finding related to witness intimidation in the fraud case.
At her sentencing for the fraud conviction, she complained the steel frame beds aggravated her herniated discs. She described the jail experience as “really, really rough” and “pure hell,” but added she wasn’t “looking for a pity party.”
Claire Risoldi’s sentencing:Claire Risoldi sentenced to county jail after ‘spectacular’ fall from grace
After a three-week trial, a jury convicted Claire Risoldi of dealing in unlawful proceeds, two counts of insurance fraud, theft by deception, criminal attempt theft by deception and conspiracy theft by deception in connection with the 2013 fire.
Among the fraudulent claims Risoldi was convicted of filing was for $10 million in allegedly stolen jewelry that she accused volunteer firefighters of stealing while battling the 2013 fire. AIG never paid that claim.
The criminal case gained international attention when the Pennsylvania Attorney General brought fraud charges against Risoldi and other members of her family and two associates alleging they used illegally procured insurance money to fund a lavish lifestyle.
Claire Risoldi was the only defendant to go to trial. Three other family members made deals that included no jail time. Two family associates had charges against them dismissed. Claire Risoldi’s second husband, Thomas French, died by suicide in 2015, shortly after the indictments were handed down.
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