Straw scam defendant caught in kidnapping

Trevor Summers is accused of abducting his estranged wife

A former Delaware County man who participated in a scam to defraud investors in a business that would place advertisements on commercial straws is in police custody in Florida for allegedly kidnapping his estranged wife.

Authorities in Hillsborough County, Florida, issued a nationwide warrant Sunday for the arrest of Trevor Summers on charges of kidnapping, theft of a motor vehicle, and violation of a domestic violence order. He was arrested on Monday after police were alerted to seeing a car belonging to his wife. She was found relatively unharmed.

According to a police press release from the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, on Saturday at approximately 9:05 p.m., a witness observed a white woman screaming for help in the parking lot of a drug store in Lithia, a suburb of Tampa. The witness said that the woman appeared to have her hands tied behind her back.

The witness observed a man force the woman into a vehicle, whose registered owner was listed as Alisa Summers, the wife of Trevor Summers. Police said the victim and suspect both have injunctions against each other, and are currently separated.

On Monday at approximately 11:30 a.m. a citi-

zen spotted Alisa Summer’s vehicle, called in the location, and then followed the vehicle for approximately one mile until the car pulled into a driveway and parked under the house which is on stilts. Deputies responded to the residence and came in contact with both Alisa and Trevor Summers. Alisa Summers suffered some small cuts on her wrists and Trevor Summers had a cut on his neck which was self-inflicted, according to a police press release. Trevor Summers was transported to the hospital where he was booked on criminal charges.

Hillsborough police said detectives have interviewed Alisa Summers. According to her account of events, she was kept at her residence against her will by her husband starting on Saturday morning and then they left the house and went to a drug store to pick up something for him. That is when she attempted to flee. She said Trevor Summers then placed her back in the car and fled. She told investigators that they had been driving around and went to an area down in southern Hillsborough County where he got rid of their phones and they slept in the SUV in a wooded area. Detectives interviewed Trevor Summers and he allegedly admitted to the offense,

Trevor Summers, 39, who had formerly lived in Aston, Delaware County, had been scheduled to appear before U.S. District Judge Juan Sanchez in federal court in Philadelphia on Wednesday for sentencing in the case in which he pleaded guilty to charges of wire fraud in September.

He and a partner, Jonathan Snyder of Newtown Square, were accused by authorities of defrauding investors in 2010 in a business that was supposed to put advertisements for everything from storage units to pop star Taylor Swift on plastic straws that would then be given free to local restaurants, according to court documents and those involved.

The prosecution said that Snyder, who was scheduled for sentencing Tuesday, and Summers had falsely promoted themselves as holding a U.S. patent on a process to print ink-safe advertising on drinking straws, and as having a $1 million investment in machinery that could produce the adladen straws.

In reality, officials contend, neither man had either. They nevertheless sought investment money from several individuals, including restaurant owners in West Chester and Glen Mills, promising millions in sales across the United States, according to those involved.

The prosecution said the men had defrauded at least four people of $345,000, in part by showing them straws printed with ads for the Public Storage franchise and Swift. Testimony at Snyder’s trial last year showed that neither were legitimate.

The federal indictment accused Snyder and Summers of fraudulently soliciting funds in 2010 and 2011. Four specific instances were cited in the case, including interstate wire transfers of $110,000 from an individual identified as J.C., $50,000 from an individual identified as B.M., $15,000 from an individual identified as P.D., and $10,000 from an individual identified as S.O.

In response to the warrant issued by Hillborough authorities, on Monday, Sanchez ordered that Summers’ bail be revoked and a bench warrant issued for his arrest.

A news broadcast on WFLA-TV in Tampa quoted friends of 39-year-old Alisa Summers, a mother of five, gathered at the Walgreens parking lot Sunday, where the couple was last seen. They prayed and sang for both. “Distraught, heartbroken,” said friend Jennifer Griest. “Hopefully if anybody sees this or she sees this or Trevor sees this, they will recognize that they are loved and they are not condemned and they can come home.”

Investigators said the two had a meeting on Feb. 18, but it took a turn for the worse.

“This was a mutual meeting where they were going to discuss divorce, how they were going to move forward, the kids and financial obligations,” said Hillsborough Col. Donna Lusczynski. “At that time they had dinner, watched TV and spent time together. At some point after that Alicia then called us and reported that she was allegedly held against her will at that time. Deputies responded, conducted an investigation and interviews and at that time we did not make an arrest due to some of the conflicting statements.”