4 days ago
Man says Westmoreland County lawyer involved in bloody standoff stole $300K from his mom's estate
A man says he's shocked after a Westmoreland County lawyer who allegedly took advantage of his late mother's estate shot himself in his Murrysville office and was tased after a standoff with police.
Police said Robert Klingensmith shot and wounded himself in his office before they tased him for ignoring repeated demands to stop moving while they served a search warrant. It was all caught on camera.
John Wiley, who says Klingensmith stole more than $300,000 from his mom's estate, can't believe what happened.
Not only was Klingensmith the attorney for the estate of Anne Marie Wiley, but he was also considered a friend of the family, making the alleged crime, according to John, even more disgusting.
"I think I'm still trying to absorb and digest everything that has happened," John Wiley said.
When Wiley needed an estate planning attorney for his mother, he knew exactly who to turn to: family friend Robert Klingensmith. Wiley thought Klingesmith had his family's best interest at heart.
"He was a friend of my brother and his son was friends with one of my nephews, so he seemed pretty trusting," Wiley said.
In 2021, Klingensmith was appointed an agent under Anne Marie Wiley's power of attorney, which gave him access to all her financial accounts. Unbeknownst to Wiley, who lives in Florida, over the next few months, Klingensmith allegedly pocketed nearly $100,000 from her accounts by writing checks to the law firm and making ATM withdrawals.
"Me being in Florida, I was kind of talked into, you know, pretty much giving him full rein of the estate," Wiley said.
When Wiley's mom died in April of 2022, he says Klingensmith stopped taking his calls and he never saw a dime from her estate, which was worth more than $300,000.
That was the first time, he says, he thought something was off, so he reached out to the disciplinary board of the Supreme Court.
"She was trying to the best of her ability to save everything she could to leave to me and my nephews and niece," Wiley said.
"That breaks my heart," he added.
During the course of the investigation, detectives learned Klingensmith closed Anne Marie Wiley's accounts and withdrew the $91,000. They say he also sold her share of an apartment building, which netted $131,500. Wiley says his family may never see the money, but he hopes justice will be served.
"I just want him to realize what he did, that it really has hurt all of us, and that he, you know, betrayed our trust," Wiley said.
Klingensmith is still recovering in the hospital. He's facing charges of theft and financial exploitation of an older adult.
