HARRISBURG – Agents from the Attorney General’s Insurance Fraud Section have filed criminal charges against a Blair County man accused of filing false police reports and insurance claims after allegedly staging the theft of his own car.
Attorney General Tom Corbett identified the defendant as Richard Way Jr., 28, of Claysburg.
Corbett said that Way allegedly staged the theft his 2004 Ford Mustang after he was stopped by Pennsylvania State Police for driving the vehicle with an invalid license plate. Way is also accused of removing expensive stereo, video and performance equipment from the car, which he later attempted to sell on eBay. The total value of the vehicle and equipment is approximately $26,000.
According to the criminal complaint, Way reported his car stolen on April 19, 2006 – the morning after he had been stopped for driving with an invalid license plate. Way allegedly told investigators that he left the vehicle in a parking lot in Allegheny Township, Blair County, after being stopped by state police, and received a ride home from friends.
Corbett said that Way claimed to have returned the following morning to retrieve his vehicle, only to find it missing – at which point he contacted police to report it stolen. The heavily damaged car was recovered a short time later, at the base of an embankment along “Wopsy Mountain,” in Logan Township, Blair County.
According to the criminal complaint, Way drove his vehicle to a friend’s house after he had been stopped by state police. After removing stereo, DVD and performance equipment from the car, Way allegedly asked several acquaintances if they would help him push it off a cliff – offering a portion of the insurance claim money for their assistance.
Corbett said that when the damaged vehicle was recovered, it had been stripped of the stereo and performance equipment that Way claimed to have installed. Several days after the reported “theft,” Way allegedly asked another acquaintance for assistance in listing automotive performance equipment on eBay. The items listed on the Internet auction site were similar to the description of items missing from Way’s vehicle.
Corbett said that Way is charged with one count of insurance fraud, one count of making false reports to law enforcement and one count of criminal attempted theft by deception, all third-degree felonies which are each punishable by up to seven years in prison and $15,000 fines.
Way was preliminarily arraigned before Roaring Springs Magisterial District Judge Craig Ormsby and was released on his own recognizance awaiting a preliminary hearing before Ormsby.
Way will be prosecuted in Blair County by Senior Deputy Attorney General Dennis Kistler of the Attorney General’s Insurance Fraud Section