An arrest warrant has been issued for a former Alle Kiski Valley man accused of posing as a wealthy homebuyer to attempt to defraud a Richland Township family who agreed to give him their home and other property for sale for $5.1 million.
Timothy Paul Bierly, 27, who previously lived on Dance Hall Road in Washington Township, has been charged with felony counts of theft by fraud, counterfeiting and unlawful use of a computer and criminal attempt.
Bierly has not yet been taken into custody on the charges, which were filed on March 26, according to court documents.
Northern Regional Police said Bierly lives in New Hampshire, where he faces charges of domestic violence. Once in custody, he is scheduled to be extradited to Pennsylvania.
A Northern Regional Police detective wrote in a criminal complaint against Bierly that a family reported in June that he and a woman came to their home on the 5600 block of North Montour Road to view the property for sale.
Bierly arranged the tour through a real estate agent after submitting documents to show he could afford to buy the home, investigators said.
He told the family he had money to buy their home because he recently sold his business for $52 million, the complaint said.
After the tour, Bierly was presented with a contract to purchase the home, additional land and some of her other possessions for $5.1 million, investigators said.
Bierly told the family he had his own title attorney who would wire a $51,000 deposit for the sale and provide them with multiple copies of bank statements and remittance documents, according to the complaint.
Investigators said the documents were fake.
The family told police all communication with the woman, who Bierly said was his title attorney, was via email, investigators said.
The family became suspicious after giving them multiple excuses as to why the closure date at the property had to be pushed back, according to the complaint.
Her suspicions led her to search the internet for the woman’s name, which matched that of a Pittsburgh attorney, the complaint said.
When they went to the woman’s office to speak to her, they were told the company had no knowledge of the sale transaction, police said.
Investigators said the emails from the title attorney were actually sent to the family from Bierly.
A group of retirees in New Smyrna Beach and Edgewater, Florida created a website with stories from local residents who accused Bierly of cheating on them by taking money upfront for work that was never done on homes repaired in the wake of Hurricane Ian damaged in September.
The group contacted the Attorney General’s Office in According to a spokeswoman for the AG office, Volusia County is to report Bierly.
She said a resident group representative was directed on March 29 to file their complaints against Bierly with the Smyrna Beach Police Department.
A spokesman for the police department could not be reached immediately.
Tony LaRussa is a contributor to the Tribune Review. You can contact Tony via email at [email protected] or via Twitter .
