A woman was accused of buying car insurance minutes after a crash and then filing a claim.
According to WFMJ, Savannah Laurel May Stinedurf, 30, is facing felony and misdemeanor charges for allegedly attempting to defraud an insurance company following an accident on January 3.
According to a criminal complaint filed by the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, Stinedurf called Progressive Insurance and received coverage for a 2017 Ford Escape at 1:27 p.m. that day.
Stinedurf later phoned Progressive to report that her vehicle had been involved in a collision, claiming that the incident occurred at 1:50 p.m., according to WFMJ.
According to the broadcaster, Stinedurf informed the agent that the collision occurred 20 minutes after she received her insurance.
Court documents seen by WFMJ apparently show that Progressive contacted the mother of the other motorist involved, who stated that her daughter had photographed the damage at the scene.
The metadata associated with the photos purportedly shows that they were taken at 1:20 p.m., seven minutes after Stinedurf got an insurance policy to cover her Ford Escape.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Stinedurf revealed to authorities that her Escape was uninsured at the time of the incident and that she received insurance coverage later.
Investigators asked Stinedurf why she reported that the policy had been bought prior to the collision, and she allegedly stated that she wanted the other driver’s vehicle to be covered.
According to WFMJ, Progressive had allocated $1,000 for Stinedurf’s claim.
According to the station, she faces the following charges:
- False/fraudulent/incomplete insurance claim (3rd-degree felony)
- Criminal attempt – Theft by deception (1st-degree misdemeanor)
According to the publication, Stinedurf will face a preliminary hearing on May 28. According to WFMJ, she was granted bail of $15,000.
