Murrysville attorney accused of bilking more than $300K from elderly client

A Murrysville attorney who ran unsuccessfully for district judge in 2023 was charged Thursday with stealing about $312,000 from an elderly client.

An arrest warrant was issued for Robert C. Klingensmith, 61, on three counts of theft and a single count of financial exploitation of an older adult. He did not return a phone message Thursday afternoon.

Klingensmith’s license to practice law was placed on temporary suspension May 13 by The Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, according to a court order. That suspension remains in effect.

The disciplinary board was notified of suspicious activity in October 2024 after a bank account that Klingensmith used to hold client funds was overdrawn. A state investigator on May 2 contacted Westmoreland County Detective Ray Dupilka and shared documentation of Klingensmith’s handling of the estate of Anne Marie Wiley, according to court papers.

Klingensmith in September 2021 was appointed as an agent under Wiley’s power of attorney, which authorities said allowed him access to her financial accounts. Over the next five months, Klingensmith is accused of taking $95,280 from Wiley’s accounts by writing checks to the law practice and making ATM withdrawals, according to court papers.

Wiley died in April 2022 at 90 years old, according to her obituary.

In the following days and weeks, Klingensmith closed her accounts, withdrew $91,000, created an estate account in her name and put $86,000 in it, police said. Eighteen checks totaling $86,000 were written from that account to Klingensmith Law between April and August 2022.

Police said Klingensmith sold Wiley’s share in a Washington County apartment building in March 2024 and deposited $131,500 in proceeds into a trust account with the law firm. Checks totaling the same amount were written to Klingensmith and the law firm between March and October 2024, according to court papers.

No disbursements were made to Wiley’s four heirs under her will, police said.

Klingensmith is a Franklin Regional graduate and attended Penn State University and Duquesne University’s School of Law. He was licensed to practice law in Pennsylvania in 2001, according to disciplinary board records.

During his unsuccessful campaign for an open district judge seat in Export in 2023, Klingensmith said he had experience in criminal, civil, family and estate law.