By MARISSA DECHANT – Staff writer
Two people are facing fraud charges after allegedly providing false information about a vehicle accident in order to claim over $3,000 in damages.
A criminal complaint filed through District Judge Matthew Kirtland’s office said the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General completed an insurance fraud investigation after a vehicle crash in March involving Kari Bertolina, 35, of Franklin, and Kenneth Sterling, 32, of Titusville.
During the investigation, it was found that Sterling filed a claim against Bertolina’s Nationwide Insurance policy on March 15 after being involved in an accident with her that day, the complaint said.
Sterling reported that Bertolina had been chasing him around Franklin and rear-ended his truck, the complaint said.
Sterling said the impact also pushed the front of his truck into an unknown object, the complaint said.
When Bertolina spoke with Nationwide on March 16, she said road conditions made her unable to stop her car, and she rear-ended Sterling’s truck, the complaint said.
Bertolina said she did not know Sterling and was unsure how he came to obtain her insurance information, the complaint said.
In an interview with Nationwide on March 20, Sterling said he was able to obtain Bertolina’s insurance information by paying for it with his credit card, the complaint said. He also identified Bertolina as his ex-girlfriend, the complaint said.
Sterling said the accident was intentional on Bertolina’s part, the complaint said.
A special investigator for Nationwide also spoke with Sterling in a subsequent interview, and Sterling clarified that he meant Bertolina was only intentional in that she was following his vehicle closely, the complaint said.
When the investigator asked Sterling if he thought Nationwide would pay for the claim if the accident were intentional, Sterling said no, the complaint said.
A special agent with the Office of the Attorney General spoke with Bertolina at her residence, where she said that she and Sterling had broken up several days prior to the accident, and she did intentionally cause the crash, the complaint said.
Bertolina admitted to providing false information in an attempt to have Nationwide pay the claim after being contacted by Sterling, the complaint said.
Bertolina also said that Sterling’s truck did not strike an object in front of it, the complaint said.
Both Bertolina and Sterling are facing felony counts of false insurance claim, criminal attempt – theft by deception – false impression and insurance fraud.
They were both released on $15,000 unsecured bail.
Preliminary hearings are tentatively set for Oct. 25 in Central Court.
