A 44-year-old title agent from Allentown was sentenced Wednesday to four and a half years in federal prison for spending $6 million of his clients’ funds, according to the man’s attorney.

Defense attorney Joshua Karoly said Louis Belletieri was addicted to sports gambling. Belletieri embezzled funds put in escrow that were supposed to be used to complete real estate sale transactions for his clients, court records say.

Instead, Belletieri used the funds to place sports bets and for personal reasons, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s office.

From March 2020 through September 2023, Belletieri transferred funds electronically from the escrow account of Legacy Title, his business, to his personal account, the release says. The funds were supposed to pay off mortgages,

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