DUBOIS – A father and son facing felony insurance fraud charges waived their rights to a preliminary hearing Friday before District Judge Patrick Ford during Centralized Court.
Colton Sharp, 20, 174 Swashbuckle Ct., 1576 Treasure Lake, DuBois and Scott Charles Sharp, 42, 55 Saint Marc Rd., 1766 Treasure Lake, DuBois, were charged as a result of their alleged actions after Colton Sharp was in a car accident on Oct. 24, 2013.
It is alleged that they placed deer hair on the vehicle to support Colton Sharp’s story that he had struck a deer. Both are free on $5,000 unsecured bail.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, in November of 2013, police were contacted by Progressive Insurance Company regarding an insurance claim from Colton Sharp’s mother on Oct. 24, 2013.
She reported that her son, Colton Sharp, wrecked her 2005 Subaru, and she wanted to purchase collision insurance for that vehicle that she bought on Sept. 11, 2013. Progressive does allow a grace period to add new vehicles to a policy, but this attempt to add the car was beyond their 30-day period, according to the criminal complaint.
The representative of Progressive told police that Colton Sharp provided a statement about the accident. He allegedly told them when a deer came onto the roadway he swerved to miss it and went off the road, causing the vehicle to roll twice.
He said he didn’t know if he had struck the deer or not until he and his father later checked the vehicle and it had deer hair on it.
This statement to the insurance company was different than what he had told the original investigating officer on the incident.
He told police on the day of the accident that he was traveling west on Bay Road near the back gate of Treasure Lake. He said he was going about 29 miles per hour when he swerved to miss a deer.
He said he lost control as the vehicle left the roadway. It struck an embankment and rolled over.
It was determined after an investigation that Sharp’s vehicle struck the embankment then traveled 96 feet, rolling over before coming to rest upright. High speed was listed as a contributing factor.
The original investigating officer did not see any deer hair on the vehicle. Sharp never told him he struck a deer, only that he had swerved to miss it. The vehicle was towed to a local business.
When Colton Sharp was questioned by police on Oct. 19, 2015, he was advised of the questions from the insurance company on the accident. Sharp agreed he told Progressive Insurance he and his father had found deer hair on the vehicle.
The officer advised Sharp that he was being deceptive because the police didn’t observe any deer hair on the car. Sharp then admitted he and his father, Scott Sharp, went to the towing lot after the accident and placed deer hair on the exterior of the car.
He said he got the hair from a deer his friend had killed in archery season. He also reported that he purchased the vehicle on Sept. 11, 2013 and failed to transfer it onto his insurance plan.
Scott Sharp was then questioned. He stated he was also responsible for placing the deer hair on the vehicle. He added that he realized this was wrong. He told police that Colton Sharp’s mother had no involvement with the incident.