Mom in Pa. abduction hoax detained in federal custody in new $700,000 theft, fraud case

Pa. hoax abduction mom held in $700K fraud case

PHILADELPHIA — A suburban mother once arrested at Disney World after calling in a hoax abduction of her daughter has been ordered held in a $700,000 federal fraud case.

The FBI took custody of 39-year-old Bonnie Sweeten early Friday from the Bucks County Prison after she served 10 months for the hoax kidnapping.

A magistrate later appointed Sweeten a public defender and ordered her held until a detention hearing set for Wednesday.

Sweeten, a white mother of three, called 911 in May 2009 to say she and her daughter had been carjacked and abducted near Philadelphia by two black men.

Instead, she fled to Florida amid a large-scale swindling probe. The indictment says she stole money from an elderly relative to repay funds diverted from her employer.