Brett Sholtis
@brettsholtis.bsky.social
Reporter, Philadelphia @Inquirer.com Weekend |Prev: Investigative reporter @LancasterOnline, health reporter @WITF & for @NPR | 21-22 Rosalynn Carter fellow | ARNG vet | bsholtis@inquirer.com
And a few more. Details on some of the people in the photos in my stories.
October 18, 2025 at 8:24 PM
And a few more. Details on some of the people in the photos in my stories.
Today I helped cover the No Kings protest in Philly along with several of my talented @inquirer.com colleagues. Here’s a liveblog of our coverage along with some pics
www.inquirer.com/news/philade...
www.inquirer.com/news/philade...
October 18, 2025 at 8:24 PM
Today I helped cover the No Kings protest in Philly along with several of my talented @inquirer.com colleagues. Here’s a liveblog of our coverage along with some pics
www.inquirer.com/news/philade...
www.inquirer.com/news/philade...
Personal news: I have joined the Philadelphia @inquirer.com as part of its Inquirer Weekend team. I could not be more excited! Lancaster: Thank you for trusting me with your stories these past few years. Philly: Don't be a stranger, send me your story ideas, theories, etc.
August 19, 2025 at 3:49 PM
Personal news: I have joined the Philadelphia @inquirer.com as part of its Inquirer Weekend team. I could not be more excited! Lancaster: Thank you for trusting me with your stories these past few years. Philly: Don't be a stranger, send me your story ideas, theories, etc.
Strike art at Thomas F. Donatucci, Sr. library, Philadelphia ☠️
July 3, 2025 at 1:26 PM
Strike art at Thomas F. Donatucci, Sr. library, Philadelphia ☠️
The way this whole thing got started? The mayor of Fairfield, TX promised to save the town's local coal mine.
May 22, 2025 at 11:19 PM
The way this whole thing got started? The mayor of Fairfield, TX promised to save the town's local coal mine.
Here is the CETA Ponzi scheme. Every quarter, investors were paid out. And the pressure grew more intense to raise more money, to outpace the fraudulent returns being paid.
May 22, 2025 at 11:19 PM
Here is the CETA Ponzi scheme. Every quarter, investors were paid out. And the pressure grew more intense to raise more money, to outpace the fraudulent returns being paid.
Here's a bit of the story, for those who are paywalled.
May 22, 2025 at 11:19 PM
Here's a bit of the story, for those who are paywalled.
At @lancasteronline.bsky.social, we've been covering a major ($500M+) business fraud case involving ATM machines. So I was stunned to learn that people from Lancaster County lost millions to * another * scheme. And it was this guy Dave Zook, at left, involved in both.
May 22, 2025 at 11:19 PM
At @lancasteronline.bsky.social, we've been covering a major ($500M+) business fraud case involving ATM machines. So I was stunned to learn that people from Lancaster County lost millions to * another * scheme. And it was this guy Dave Zook, at left, involved in both.
One question rose to prominence as I dug into this 825-page filing: What did the people close to Daryl Heller know about this business?
The short answer: Under oath, they claim, not a hell of a lot.
But in texts with Heller, the CEO was frantic about what increasingly looked to him like fraud.
The short answer: Under oath, they claim, not a hell of a lot.
But in texts with Heller, the CEO was frantic about what increasingly looked to him like fraud.
May 8, 2025 at 6:26 PM
One question rose to prominence as I dug into this 825-page filing: What did the people close to Daryl Heller know about this business?
The short answer: Under oath, they claim, not a hell of a lot.
But in texts with Heller, the CEO was frantic about what increasingly looked to him like fraud.
The short answer: Under oath, they claim, not a hell of a lot.
But in texts with Heller, the CEO was frantic about what increasingly looked to him like fraud.
"Do you think Paramount was a Ponzi scheme?” Voss asked Leaman.
A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent financial operation that relies on a constant influx of new investors to pay the bills. It collapses when the required payouts grow larger than the money coming in.
“I do not know,” Leaman replied.
A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent financial operation that relies on a constant influx of new investors to pay the bills. It collapses when the required payouts grow larger than the money coming in.
“I do not know,” Leaman replied.
May 8, 2025 at 6:26 PM
"Do you think Paramount was a Ponzi scheme?” Voss asked Leaman.
A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent financial operation that relies on a constant influx of new investors to pay the bills. It collapses when the required payouts grow larger than the money coming in.
“I do not know,” Leaman replied.
A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent financial operation that relies on a constant influx of new investors to pay the bills. It collapses when the required payouts grow larger than the money coming in.
“I do not know,” Leaman replied.
Some top details:
🏧 Money was flowing on a daily basis between Heller's ATM business, his crypto company, umbrella org and elsewhere
🏧 Insiders voiced concerns about fraud before the investor funds sued Paramount in Aug. 2024.
🏧 Months before FBI raid, CEO worried about legal repercussions
🏧 Money was flowing on a daily basis between Heller's ATM business, his crypto company, umbrella org and elsewhere
🏧 Insiders voiced concerns about fraud before the investor funds sued Paramount in Aug. 2024.
🏧 Months before FBI raid, CEO worried about legal repercussions
May 8, 2025 at 6:26 PM
Some top details:
🏧 Money was flowing on a daily basis between Heller's ATM business, his crypto company, umbrella org and elsewhere
🏧 Insiders voiced concerns about fraud before the investor funds sued Paramount in Aug. 2024.
🏧 Months before FBI raid, CEO worried about legal repercussions
🏧 Money was flowing on a daily basis between Heller's ATM business, his crypto company, umbrella org and elsewhere
🏧 Insiders voiced concerns about fraud before the investor funds sued Paramount in Aug. 2024.
🏧 Months before FBI raid, CEO worried about legal repercussions
Never seen anything like it
March 26, 2025 at 12:54 PM
Never seen anything like it
“We know electeds pay attention to the people who write the big checks. That doesn't mean we influence them, but that our names are known.”
If that's true, then based on @stephenjcaruso.bsky.social reporting, most of our lawmakers' attention goes to two guys -- Jeff Yass and Michael Karp.
If that's true, then based on @stephenjcaruso.bsky.social reporting, most of our lawmakers' attention goes to two guys -- Jeff Yass and Michael Karp.
March 25, 2025 at 8:08 PM
“We know electeds pay attention to the people who write the big checks. That doesn't mean we influence them, but that our names are known.”
If that's true, then based on @stephenjcaruso.bsky.social reporting, most of our lawmakers' attention goes to two guys -- Jeff Yass and Michael Karp.
If that's true, then based on @stephenjcaruso.bsky.social reporting, most of our lawmakers' attention goes to two guys -- Jeff Yass and Michael Karp.
Sujata. Ghana. Binay. All three were born in the same place -- Goldhap refugee camp, Nepal. They all heard the stories about why they had to flee Bhutan due to ethnic violence and oppression. To them, ICE raids targeting local Bhutanese people brings up the spectre of violent nationalism again.
March 19, 2025 at 10:43 PM
Sujata. Ghana. Binay. All three were born in the same place -- Goldhap refugee camp, Nepal. They all heard the stories about why they had to flee Bhutan due to ethnic violence and oppression. To them, ICE raids targeting local Bhutanese people brings up the spectre of violent nationalism again.
Heller also participated in the sale of a Cessna Citation Excel, a business grad twin-jet that typically resells for around $3.4 million. The founder of the airline company he worked with said that Heller left a half-million in unpaid bills in his wake.
February 14, 2025 at 6:01 PM
Heller also participated in the sale of a Cessna Citation Excel, a business grad twin-jet that typically resells for around $3.4 million. The founder of the airline company he worked with said that Heller left a half-million in unpaid bills in his wake.
Three months later in July, Heller sold a house to his son for $1. Later, he liquidated his shares in a business. By January, he was dodging a licensed private investigator who was chatting up the neighbors for intel. To the investor suing him, this all amounts to fraud.
February 14, 2025 at 6:01 PM
Three months later in July, Heller sold a house to his son for $1. Later, he liquidated his shares in a business. By January, he was dodging a licensed private investigator who was chatting up the neighbors for intel. To the investor suing him, this all amounts to fraud.
In April 2024 -- the same month Heller first failed give his investors their monthly payouts -- he took out a $5.1 million loan. He had . . . four days . . . to pay it back, plus an $800,000 fee. According to the lawsuit, he didn't pay.
February 14, 2025 at 6:01 PM
In April 2024 -- the same month Heller first failed give his investors their monthly payouts -- he took out a $5.1 million loan. He had . . . four days . . . to pay it back, plus an $800,000 fee. According to the lawsuit, he didn't pay.
Sahar Mehryar's father, a WHO doctor, was tortured by the Taliban. She's been working with a federal program to bring him, and other immediate family, to the U.S.
January 28, 2025 at 7:11 PM
Sahar Mehryar's father, a WHO doctor, was tortured by the Taliban. She's been working with a federal program to bring him, and other immediate family, to the U.S.
“We fought against Taliban and, of course, Taliban can just arrest my parents,” said Farida Mohammadi, who has lived in Lancaster since 2021. “And you know what Taliban can do. They can put them in the jail. They can torture. They can kill."
January 28, 2025 at 7:11 PM
“We fought against Taliban and, of course, Taliban can just arrest my parents,” said Farida Mohammadi, who has lived in Lancaster since 2021. “And you know what Taliban can do. They can put them in the jail. They can torture. They can kill."
For Nadina Feakins, the situation takes her back to when she was a teenager from Argentina who overstayed her tourist visa.
“I was undocumented,” Feakins said. “So the fear that this administration puts on our community is indescribable.”
“I was undocumented,” Feakins said. “So the fear that this administration puts on our community is indescribable.”
January 22, 2025 at 12:08 AM
For Nadina Feakins, the situation takes her back to when she was a teenager from Argentina who overstayed her tourist visa.
“I was undocumented,” Feakins said. “So the fear that this administration puts on our community is indescribable.”
“I was undocumented,” Feakins said. “So the fear that this administration puts on our community is indescribable.”
Immigration lawyer Troy Mattes explained a common situation among his clients. They came here illegally years, even decades, ago. They've settled here, gotten married, raised families, had careers, and they've been pursuing paths to legal status.
January 22, 2025 at 12:06 AM
Immigration lawyer Troy Mattes explained a common situation among his clients. They came here illegally years, even decades, ago. They've settled here, gotten married, raised families, had careers, and they've been pursuing paths to legal status.
Shared by a colleague. Republican-aligned 501(c)(4) Moms for Liberty is launching "M4LU." Topics include social emotional learning, critical race theory, gender ideology, ethnic studies and Marxism.
January 3, 2025 at 7:05 PM
Shared by a colleague. Republican-aligned 501(c)(4) Moms for Liberty is launching "M4LU." Topics include social emotional learning, critical race theory, gender ideology, ethnic studies and Marxism.
My mom, a true connoisseur of knick-knacks, has always blanketed her home in Christmas decorations, but even by her standards she may have finally gone too far
December 23, 2024 at 5:08 PM
My mom, a true connoisseur of knick-knacks, has always blanketed her home in Christmas decorations, but even by her standards she may have finally gone too far
Republican state Sen. Ryan Aument of Lancaster is resigning his position to serve as state director for incoming U.S. Senator Dave McCormick. There will be a special election. Who will replace him?
December 10, 2024 at 4:49 PM
Republican state Sen. Ryan Aument of Lancaster is resigning his position to serve as state director for incoming U.S. Senator Dave McCormick. There will be a special election. Who will replace him?