ST. GEORGE — A Hurricane business owner has been charged with defrauding an insurance company following more than a yearlong investigation by the Utah Department of Insurance Fraud Department.
The case involves 45-year-old Matthew David Wetzel, who has been charged with one second-degree felony count for filing a false or fraudulent insurance claim, according to the complaint filed by Assistant Attorney General Michael Scott with the Utah Attorney General’s Office.
The complaint was submitted by Brett DeCow, an investigator with the Utah Department of Insurance’s Fraud Division, which alleges that Wetzel defrauded AAA Insurance Company out of more than $15,000 in false claims over the course of 19 months – from January 2019 to August 2020.
The investigation was launched after the Utah Insurance Fraud Division received a complaint involving Winder Towing in Hurricane, a company the defendant has owned since 2013.
While following up on the report, the investigator discovered numerous claims that were submitted to AAA by Winder Towing, a number of which allegedly involved discrepancies as to the nature of the services provided, tow destinations, dates of service and the vehicles involved in the claims.
Court documents also outlined a number of claims, including four towing claims that were submitted to AAA between May 2019 and June 2020, involving a known associate of the defendant and Winder Towing. Three of the claims involved vehicles that, according to the claims, were...
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