Former Owner of Bucks County Playhouse Faces Up to 30 Years for Fraud; Sentencing Set for Monday

Ralph Miller, former owner of the Bucks County Playhouse in New Hope, Pa., will be sentenced on Monday after a spring fraud conviction. He could face up to 30 years in prison, according to the New Hope Free Press.

As reported back in May, Miller was found guilty of taking over $200,000 in fraudulent insurance payments following a terrible flood in 2006, which damaged much of the property.

Philadelphia federal court by Judge Cynthia Rufe will level Miller's sentence this coming Monday, January 11, 2016, based on counts of money laundering and mail fraud.

Miller served as owner of the theatre for 30 years and was accused of falsifying invoices for expensive equipment following the flood, including claims for approximately $200,000 in lighting, for which he received $184,000 from his insurance company. The insurance covered $905,000 total for repairs and items lost in the flood. Cashing the fraudulently obtained insurance checks constituted money laundering.

The mail fraud charge comes from Miller's time as owner of the Pocono Playhouse, which went up in flames in 2009. Two other venues under his ownership -- the Woodstock Playhouse in New York and the Falmouth Playhouse in Cape Cod -- were also destroyed in separate fires in the late '80s and mid-90s.

In 2010, BroadwayWorld previously reported that Bucks County Playhouse was experiencing a turnover in leadership as Miller stepped down due to "financial troubles." Miller was indicted in September 2011.

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