“If you can’t afford it, steal it,” isn’t the best credo to live by, but some allegedly do.
Timothy Bierly, for example, is accused by police of posing as a wealthy homebuyer — creating false bank statements, email addresses and wire transfers — to con his way into a suburban-Pittsburgh mansion worth $5.1 million, WPXI reported.
Bierly, 27, allegedly toured the North Hills home with a real estate agent last summer. He told the owners and the agent he could afford the luxe home because he had recently sold his business for more than $50 million, according to the outlet.
He then posed as Pittsburgh attorney Kathleen Schneider, setting up an email account in her name, and claimed — as Schneider — that he’d wire a $51,000 down payment.
Becoming suspicious when Bierly’s Schneider kept postponing the closing, the homeowner tracked down the real Schneider, who said she hadn’t had any dealings with Bierly, nor did she know anything about representing a client purchasing the North Hills home.
The homeowner went to the police, who found falsified wire documents and bank statements, the outlet reported. Authorities ultimately found Bierly in Rhode Island, where he was also facing criminal charges.
He’s now facing new charges in Pennsylvania, including forgery and criminal attempted theft by deception, according to WPXI.
Bierly isn’t alone in trying to scam his way into a luxury home.
Ian Mitchell in 2017 posed as a wealthy homebuyer in New York City in an attempt to purchase multiple luxury apartments, going to great lengths to convince brokers and attorneys that he was a millionaire relative of the owners of Sandals Resorts.
Mitchell was shown three downtown properties in the $20 million range — there weren’t many units that fit his criteria: He wanted a penthouse with outdoor space. Mitchell at one point went as far as meeting with an attorney and going through the due diligence process.
Eventually, a check Mitchell cut to a real estate attorney bounced, and he ultimately fell off his real estate agent’s radar.
— Ted Glanzer