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Ligonier man's lawsuit says he was tricked into marriage
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The son of one of Allegheny County's most prominent judges sued his wife in U.S. District Court today, saying their marriage was the product of an elaborate scheme to get at his relatives' wealth.
James Russell McGregor Jr., whose late father served on the bench from 1974 through 2004, filed the complaint against Jacqueline McGregor, whose last name was Squire at the time of their 2007 marriage.
The Ligonier man wrote that prior to their marriage, his wife was married to Ian Squire, a British citizen with whom she lived in Florida. According to the complaint, the two Squires agreed to a divorce that they pretended was contested, while she moved to Edgewood to take care of her mother.
The plan, according to the complaint: "Jacqui would court Plaintiff and fraudulently offer sexual favors, money, emotional support, vehicles and other matters and things to woo Plaintiff in to accepting a marriage proposal." As Mr. McGregor's relatives passed on, according to the complaint, the wife would gain access to, and information about, their wealth, the complaint said.
Those relatives, according to the complaint, include the judge, former state senator and Penguins official Jack McGregor, retired attorney Sharinne Anne Strickland, successful farmer Chester DeJuan Strikland, and Mellon family members.
Mr. McGregor married the former Ms. Squires after she gave him a Range Rover, which gave him "a false sense of security," the complaint said. Though she was a Presbyterian, she agreed to marry Catholic, it said.
The complaint said that "Jacqui would force a legal separation from Plaintiff, file for divorce and, as another fraud upon the Court, make a legal play for Plaintiff's assets, and those of his family." She would then flee with Mr. Squires to "the British empire," the complaint said, though that has not yet happened.
The civil court accused Ms. McGregor of fraud, breach of contract, conversion and federal banking violations.
Neither Mr. McGregor nor Ms. McGregor could not be immediately reached for comment.
First Published December 26, 2012 3:17 pm
