Man charged with stealing $60K in alleged Pittsburgh-area home improvement scam
BRIDGEVILLE, Pa. (KDKA) -- A man is in custody, charged with scamming several homeowners out of thousands of dollars for home repairs never done.
According to police, Ryan Blumling promised all kinds of improvements to several homeowners' houses in Bridgeville. In the end, all he delivered was a bunch of excuses and according to police, it's not the first time he's done something like this.
"There's a lot of good contractors out there. There's a handful of ones though that live off of scams and frauds," said Bridgeville Chief Chad King.
According to Bridgeville police, 43-year-old Ryan Thomas Blumling is the latter of the two. Blumling is accused of ripping two homeowners off for a total of $60,000 in a home improvement scam.
"This started September of 2022," King said.
"There was work to be performed at one individual's house and the neighbor had an issue with a fence."
According to court records, Blumling gave them a two-for-one deal.
"It was supposed to start, there were contracts signed," King said.
The problem was after both homeowners allegedly gave a combined $60,000 to Blumling to do the job.
"He wouldn't even really do work," King said.
He said Blumling kept giving excuses.
Some of those alleged excuses include Blumling telling the victims he was getting married, the ground was too wet, his dog just died, he and his partner broke up, another co-worker was allegedly stealing from him, he hurt himself and he lost his wallet.
"He's had a history of this kind of conduct," King said.
Blumling went to jail in 2015 on federal charges after he allegedly defrauded investors of some $2 million. Blumling was picked up on other non-related charges in Pittsburgh last month.
"It's hard to trust anybody these days," King said.
Due to these latest charges, Blumling violated his federal parole, so he's back in federal custody. If you think you're a victim of Ryan Blumling, you are encouraged to contact your local police department.
