DUBOIS – A Reynoldsville man will stand trial for insurance fraud.
Thomas Michael Lukens, 31, 11 Yellowbrick Rd., Reynoldsville, is charged with a felony count of insurance fraud-false/incomplete or misleading information and misdemeanor counts of criminal attempt/theft by deception and insurance fraud/application fraud.
He waived his right to a preliminary hearing Friday during Centralized Court. His bail was set at $5,000, unsecured.
The charges stem from an incident on March 15 when Lukens obtained an insurance policy from Safe Auto for his 2009 Dodge Ram truck allegedly after he accidentally struck another vehicle.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, the victims told police when they returned to their vehicle that was parked on Denton Avenue near the Mount Zion Church after the church service at 10:30 a.m., they found the vehicle had damage to the driver’s front fender and door. Lukens had left a note on the windshield with his contact and insurance information.
The wife told investigators she tried to contact Erie Insurance using the information Lukens left in the note. When she called, she was told the insurance was invalid. She then contacted Sandy Township police.
Lukens told police he accidentally backed into the other vehicle and left the note on the car because he did not want to interrupt church. He said he inadvertently left old insurance information and he wanted to provide the current data.
Later that day, he stopped at the police station and provided his policy information from Safe Auto. This was passed onto the victim.
On March 18 the victim phoned in a claim to the insurance company reporting the accident occurred on March 15 between 9:30 a.m. and 10 a.m. An appraisal from the insurance company determined there was more than $1,000 in damage to the victim’s vehicle.
Lukens has a $500 deductible on the policy that was initiated after Lukens called Safe Auto March 15 at 10:20 a.m.
When a representative of the insurance company asked Lukens what time the accident occurred, he said it was on March 15 at 12 p.m.
In December as part of this investigation, Lukens was questioned again. He said he was backing out of his driveway when he hit the side of a silver SUV belonging to the victim.
He explained that because the snow was out on the road, he had to back up further than he usually would have done. He was unaware of the exact time, but thought it was at approximately 9:30 a.m. He said he left a note on the vehicle. He thought the Erie Insurance information was current. He had a joint policy with his ex-fiancée that he thought was paid up for a few more months.
He called the company and discovered his insurance card had expired. He then called Safe Auto and tried to get a policy from them. He stated he did not want to file a claim for his vehicle but he felt bad for the owners of the other vehicle and wanted them to be covered for damages.
Lukens admitted to giving false information in regard to the time of the accident.