Former Washington Township man accused of trying to rip off Richland family by posing as wealthy homebuyer arrested in Rhode Island

A former Alle-Kiski Valley man accused of posing as a wealthy homebuyer to scam a Richland Township family who agreed to sell their home and other property to him for $5.1 million was arrested in Rhode Island on Friday, according to authorities.

Timothy Paul Bierly, 27, who previously lived along Dance Hall Road in Washington Township, was charged with felony counts of theft by deception, forgery and unlawful use of a computer along with a count of criminal attempt.

Bierly was taken into custody for the Richland fraud case when he appeared in a Rhode Island courtroom on domestic violence charges, according to Northern Regional Police Chief John Sicilia.

Bierly will be extradited back to the Pittsburgh area to face the fraud charges filed March 26 in District Judge Tom Swan’s office.

The charges against Bierly in Rhode Island came to light after Northern Regional Police entered his name in the National Crime Information Center’s criminal records database, Sicilia said.

Police alerted authorities there earlier this week, and sheriff’s deputies were waiting for Bierly when he showed up for his hearing, the chief said.

A Northern Regional Police detective wrote in a criminal complaint charging Bierly that a family reported in June that he and a woman came to their home in the 5600 block of North Montour Road to tour the property, which was up for sale.

Bierly arranged the tour through a real estate agent after submitting documents to show he could afford to buy the house, according to investigators.

He told the family that he had money to buy their house because he recently sold his business for $52 million, the complaint said.

After the tour, a contract was submitted for Bierly to buy the house, additional land and some of their other possessions for $5.1 million, investigators said.

Bierly told the family he had his own title attorney who would wire a $51,000 down payment for the sale and provided them with multiple copies of bank statements and wire transfer documents, according to the complaint.

Investigators said the documents were bogus.

The family told police that all of the communication they had with the woman who Bierly said was his title attorney was by email, investigators said.

The family became suspicious after she gave them several excuses for why the closing date on the property had to be delayed, according to the complaint.

Their suspicions prompted them to do an internet search of the woman’s name, which was the same as an attorney in Pittsburgh, the complaint said.

When they went to the woman’s office to speak with her, they were told the firm knew nothing about the sales 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 in Florida created a website containing stories from residents accusing Bierly of swindling them by taking money up front for work that was never done on homes damaged after Hurricane Ian hit in September.

The group contacted the state Attorney General’s Office in Volusia County to report Bierly, according to a spokeswoman for the AG’s office.

She said a representative for the resident group was directed on Wednesday, March 29, to file their complaints against Bierly with Smyrna Beach police.

A spokesperson for the police department could not immediately be reached.