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ST. GEORGE — A Hurricane man who runs a popular YouTube channel called "Matt's Off Road Recovery" has pleaded no contest to charges claiming that he fraudulently collected money from AAA through his company, Winder Towing.
Matthew David Wetzel, 46, pleaded no contest to false or fraudulent insurance claim, a class A misdemeanor, on Feb. 22 and will be required to pay back the money received from the disputed claims.
Wetzel's attorney, Jason Velez, said the plea means that there was a dispute over the process rather than the substance of the claims.
"My client felt this resolution provided an opportunity to move forward and focus on serving others," Velez said.
Between January 2019 and August 2020, Wetzel collected over $15,000 from AAA to cover claims that were misrepresented, according to charging documents. The charges were filed after the Utah Insurance Fraud Division received a complaint and completed an investigation into the claims.
The investigator said Wetzel maintained that there was a service tied with each job but did admit to providing service at other times, which means the claims contained false information. Charging documents also say the claims misrepresented which vehicle was towed and where a vehicle was towed.
Fifth District Judge Jeffrey Wilcox ordered Wetzel to serve 18 months of probation and pay fines, including $15,328 to AAA and $1,745 to Utah's insurance fraud division.
Velez said they recognize there were...
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