Former Municipal Court Clerk Sentenced on Federal Program Theft Charges
CLEVELAND / Tuesday, February 17, 2026 – A Cleveland man has been sentenced for using his role at a local municipal court to pocket thousands of dollars in cash.
Orlando Chappell, 61, was sentenced to five years of probation and ordered to pay $37,931.47 in restitution by U.S. District Judge John R. Adams after he pleaded guilty to Federal Program Theft in August 2025.
At various times from 2012 to 2023, Chappell was employed as a deputy clerk with the City of East Cleveland Municipal Court. According to his plea agreement, his role entailed performing various administrative and clerical duties to support court operations, such as collecting fines and fees on behalf of the City of East Cleveland. One of his responsibilities was to assist landlords with rental property evictions and to facilitate the processing of forcible entry and detainer filings. Landlords were required to pay a fee to the municipal court to start the filing process which Chappell would then collect as the deputy clerk. Cash payments were accepted, and it was the deputy clerk’s responsibility to enter a record of the payment into the court’s digital financial management system. However, Chappell admitted to not recording the transactions, and instead embezzled the cash fees he collected from the landlords which totaled $37,931.47. Because the city of East Cleveland was a recipient of federal grants and other assistance during the time of his employment, Chappell was eligible to be charged in a U.S. District Court for defrauding the U.S. government.
This case was investigated by the FBI Cleveland Division and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward Brydle for the Northern District of Ohio.
Source: U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Ohio
