A Pittsburgh interior designer is facing multiple charges after being accused of bilking clients of nearly half a million dollars.
Lauren Piasecki, 44, of Morningside, has been charged with various counts of theft by unlawful taking, home improvement fraud, receiving stolen property and deceptive business practices, the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office announced Monday.
Authorities said Piasecki, lead designer and founding partner of Black Cherry Designs, scammed victims out of thousands of dollars at a time. The business had operated on Butler Street in the city’s Lawrenceville neighborhood. As recently as February 2023, she was featured in Pittsburgh Magazine.
Charges stem from eight separate cases including one involving a Fox Chapel woman, who authorities said was swindled out of about $170,000.
Fox Chapel case
According to a criminal complaint, in January 2023, Piasecki’s Fox Chapel client agreed to pay Black Cherry Design more than $5,000 for 102 billable hours of work.
Piasecki then sent the woman 12 invoices from July through December that year — for a total of $170,226, the complaint said.
The woman wrote multiple checks to Piasecki — and Piasecki deposited each of them, the complaint said.
However, aside from $1,300 worth of bathroom tiles and a $4,600 carpet Piasecki said she was keeping in a Verona storage unit, none of the purchases materialized, the complaint said.
She was charged with theft, receiving stolen property, deceptive business practices and home improvement fraud in this case.
Authorities allege Piasecki “spent the victim’s funds on business and personal expenses,” the complaint said.
Theft in Mt. Lebanon
Mt. Lebanon police have charged Piasecki with two counts of theft by deception for allegedly charging a township couple in June and July 2023 for about $13,000 total for furniture and two rugs that were never delivered, according to a criminal complaint.
The couple told police their last communication with Piasecki was an email about wallpaper in February 2024.
Other cases
Online court documents indicate Piasecki has a preliminary hearing before District Judge Lisa V. Caulfield on March 5.
She faces two charges of bad checks for allegedly issuing two checks from her business to two people in Swissvale.
Both checks totalling more than $13,600 bounced.
According to criminal complaints, Piasecki charged victims for interior design services, collected funds and failed to deliver on the work.
Authorities said PNC Bank records of Black Cherry Designs LLP indicate Piasecki made payments to loan companies and many personal expenses including but not limited to hotels, turnpike tolls, Uber rides, Amazon, restaurants, supermarkets and coffee shops, along with hundreds of ATM withdrawals.
Overall alleged total stolen funds in cases filed by the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office, Pittsburgh and Mt. Lebanon police departments was $488,775.
Staff writer Justin Vellucci contributed to this report.