Family Members of Former Baierl Controller Forfeit Homes, Cars
Cranberry resident Patricia K. Smith pleaded guilty earlier this year to embezzling more than $10 million from the Baierl Acura dealership in Wexford.
The son and daughter-in-law of Cranberry Township resident Patricia K. Smith have agreed to forfeit property, cars and others items bought for them using money Smith embezzled from the Baierl Acura car dealership in Wexford.
In January, Smith, the former controller for the car dealership, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud for embezzling more than $10.2 million from Baierl's payroll bank account over a more than six-year period. A married mother of three grown children and grandmother to three, she was sentenced to 78 months in prison and three years of supervised release earlier in May.
According to court documents filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court, Adam Smith, Patricia K. Smith’s son, and his wife, Andrea Smith, agreed to forfeit a home in Columbus, Ga., a 2010 Dodge Challenger, a 2011 Honda Pilot Touring, a 2005 Honda motorcycle, a Bernina sewing machine and numerous items of jewelry.
Also included for forfeiture are a Canon camera, a Scottish “dirk” knife and 10 Canadian bullion gold coins.
The couple was given until May 14 to leave the home in Georgia, according to court documents.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports Stephen Stallings, attorney for Adam and Andrea Smith, said his clients have been told they are not the subjects of criminal allegations.
Documents filed in U.S. District court Tuesday also showed Thomas Chmielewski, Smith’s nephew, agreed to forfeit property on Fisk Avenue in Pittsburgh as well as a 2011 Honda CR-Z Hybrid. Both were bought using money Smith embezzled from the car dealership and that she used to fund an extravagant lifestyle for herself and family members.
U.S. Attorney David Hickton has said the government is expected to recover about $1 million for Baierl. Smith has until July to report to prison.