Pine businessman Heffner gets prison in bilking case

A Pine businessman and self-professed doctor who frequently moved in Pittsburgh's socialite circles was sentenced to federal prison today for bilking a St. Louis-based chemical company out of millions of dollars.

Timothy Alan Heffner was sentenced to 18 months in jail and ordered to pay a $7,500 fine by Senior U.S. District Judge Gustave Diamond. Heffner pleaded guilty in July to federal conspiracy and tax evasion charges.

He also was ordered to pay the remaining $139,000 due in restitution to Sigma-Aldrich. Heffner has already repaid the company nearly $2 million. Representatives with the Internal Revenue Service are still determining how much Heffner owes for an outstanding tax liability of up to $1.2 million.

Heffner was accused of falsely representing himself as a medical doctor running BioTechnology Corp. of America, a chemical supply company he ran out of his basement. Prosecutors said he defrauded Sigma-Aldrich out of at least $2.1 million by buying rare chemicals from the company at discounts and selling the products back at inflated prices.

Robert Wandler, a Sigma-Aldrich employee, worked with Heffner as an insider. Heffner agreed to cooperate against Wandler.

Heffner was well-known for his fundraising work for charities such as Dapper Dan and Amen Corner.