MERCER COUNTY Sharon man charged with swindling elderly

Authorities said victims were from Mercer and Lawrence counties and, possibly, Ohio.
By VIRGINIA ROSS
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
MERCER, Pa. -- Authorities from Mercer County and the Pennsylvania attorney general's office said they believe a Sharon man used a winning personality to con more than $500,000 from five elderly residents, then used the money at a local racetrack.
Michael W. Klingensmith, 35, Pearlman Street, who was arrested at his home early Monday, is charged with 11 counts of forgery, two counts of deceptive business practices and two counts of unlawful taking.
If convicted of all charges, he faces a maximum penalty of 135 years in prison and a $290,000 fine.
About the victims: The charge of theft by deception carries a mandatory one-year prison term when the victim is age 60 or older. Authorities said four of the five victims are older than 60, with ages from 75 to 82.
Authorities charge Klingensmith with swindling $347,398 from his first victim; $123,044 from a second victim; $22,136 from a third victim; $17,850 from a fourth victim; and $2,700 from a fifth victim.
Klingensmith was arraigned before District Justice James McMahon immediately after his arrest and is being lodged in Mercer County Jail. Bail was set at $513,000.
A preliminary hearing has been set for 11 a.m. March 27 at McMahon's office in Sharon.
State Attorney General Mike Fisher, who spoke during a press conference Monday morning at Mercer County Courthouse, said state agents started investigating Klingensmith in 1999 at the request of Mercer County District Attorney James Epstein after Epstein realized the case extended beyond his jurisdiction.
What's behind charges: Fisher said authorities believe that from December 1996 to October 2000 Klingensmith swindled people in Mercer and Lawrence counties and possibly victimized individuals in Ohio.
He said authorities believe Klingensmith was hired by the victims to install water filtration systems in their homes and then charged the victims for repairs and replacement parts.
They believe he also persuaded the individuals to loan or give him money to put toward a hot-tub business he said he was trying to start.
Fisher said Klingensmith also presented forged checks, some of which belonged to one of the elderly women, to his victims to repay them for money he had borrowed.
Klingensmith asked the victims to cash the checks and gave them small amounts of cash from each check and kept the rest of the money, Fisher said. He noted some of the checks were drawn on Klingensmith's old accounts that had been closed or were overdrawn.
Authorities charge that Klingensmith persuaded one woman to cash a life insurance policy, take out a home equity loan and allow him to use her bank card.
& quot;He was hired to install these water filtration systems, & quot; Fisher said.
& quot;He got to know these people and won their trust. He was personable and had a winning personality. They trusted him. & quot;
Track winnings: Fisher said state agents investigated Klingensmith's win sheets at Ladbroke Off-Track betting facilities in western Pennsylvania and discovered he had won $154,567 in 1999 and $149,154 January through June 2000.
& quot;It's a sad day when someone preys on an elderly victim, & quot; Fisher said. & quot;The sad part is we may be able to put this man in prison, but the money isn't going to be recovered. It's gone. These individuals, whose savings have been depleted, have lost their life savings. & quot;