Southwest Missouri Couple to Stand Trial for Fraud

A southwest Missouri couple will stand trial on charges that they defrauded victims of the 2011 Joplin tornado

Sixty-five-year-old Jeffrey Wolfson, of Osage Beach, and his wife, 57-year-old Gloria Schoeller, of Springfield, are accused of taking about $38,000 of insurance money from three Joplin property owners without performing the promised repairs. The EF-5 tornado that hit Joplin on May 22, 2011, demolished a broad swath of the city and killed 161 people.

The Joplin Globe reports that Jasper County Judge Richard Copeland found probable cause to try Wolfson on charges of theft and deceptive business practice. Schoeller waived a preliminary hearing on similar charges, including theft, fraud and deceptive business practice.

Lawyers listed for Schoeller and Wolfson didn’t immediately return calls seeking comment.