Five face charges in Cleveland federal court

CLEVELAND

Five people charged with scamming a 69-year-old Mahoning County businessman out of more than $124,000 and several vehicles faced their charges in federal court Wednesday morning.

New York residents Haki Toplica, 24, Luisa R. Goris, 22, Kathryn L. De La Torre, 24, Haider Islam, 21, and Robert Russo, 27, each pleaded not guilty to charges including wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and interstate transportation of stolen property during their arraignments in Cleveland’s federal courthouse.

Only Toplica remains in federal custody without bond. The other co-defendants were each released on $20,000 unsecured appearance bonds.

The case is set for pretrials in April and May, with a jury trial set for May 20.