According to an article on the Observer-Reporter, 31-year-old Jeffrey Ray Hixon, a former South Franklin Township, PA resident and current resident of North Franklin Township, PA, has officially been charged with insurance fraud and attempted theft by deception after attempting to submit a claim to his new insurance company for damages to his pickup truck after the same claim was denied by his previous provider.
The attorney general’s insurance fraud unit received a referral from a member of Nationwide Insurance’s SIU, citing that Hixon had already submitted this same comprehensive claim for damages to GEICO a month prior.
According to authorities, an investigation ensued and determined that on April 16, 2016, Hixon filled his Dodge Ram with regular gasoline. The problem is that his truck was diesel-powered. Mechanical issues followed just a short distance later and Hixon took it to Cecil Township garage. Naturally, the regular gasoline contaminated the fuel system and resulted in a $14,400.70 estimate for repairs on April 18th, 2016.
Cue problem number 2; Hixon submitted a claim to GEICO for the repairs, but was subsequently denied and filed, as his policy did not include comprehensive coverage. He then allegedly went online and opened a new comprehensive policy with Nationwide for the same Dodge Ram.
A little over a month following the first claim denial, on May 27th, 2016, Hixon attempted to file a claim for damages pertaining to the gasoline incident, citing that it happened on May 23rd, 2016 and it was taken to the garage on May 26th, 2016 with an estimate of $17,469.88.
A member of Nationwide’s SIU confronted Hixon regarding the previous claim and denial from GEICO and admitted that the damage actually did happen in April. Furthermore, a special agent from the attorney general’s office was in contact with Hixon in January 2017, who then admitted to filing the claim with both GEICO and Nationwide for repairs, and both were denied.
Hixon was released after his arrest on a $25,000 unsecured bond, and a hearing is scheduled for April 11th, 2017.