(File Photo of a Gavel)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced yesterday that a resident of Pittsburgh pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of false impersonation of a federal officer or employee.

Thirty-eight-year-old Lazaven Mitchell pleaded guilty before Senior United States District Judge David Stewart Cercone.

The Court was advised in connection with the guilty plea that Mitchell is a Pittsburgh-based licensed financial advisor and loan officer who, on multiple occasions between April 2024 and June 2024, presented himself to local businesses as working for the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA).

Mitchell would contact businesses in Pittsburgh, then would identify himself as working for EBSA, and would subsequently request to review the businesses’ retirement plans to determine whether they were in compliance with authorities governing retirement plans.

Judge Cercone scheduled Mitchell’s sentencing for March 25th, 2027.

Mitchell could face a maximum total sentence of up to three years in prison, a fine of up to the greater of $250,000 or twice the gross pecuniary gain to Mitchell, or both.