In January 2010, Cheryl Ann Tchida of Woodbury, Minn. filed a claim for missing items totaling more than $20,000 after reporting a burglary at her home. Tchida alleged that she had purchased one of those items, a TV, at Circuit City in 2008, but officials discovered that particular model was not sold until April 2009, a month after Circuit City closed because of bankruptcy.
As investigators became involved with the case, they discovered other items, those that Tchida had claimed were missing, in various locations around her home and garage, and Tchida was charged with insurance fraud. She served 36 days of electronic home monitoring and was also sentenced to 7 years' probation.
Little did officials know they would see Tchida that same year under similar circumstances. In the fall of 2010, Tchida filed a claim after her backyard trampoline was allegedly damaged by a fallen tree during a storm. Later, Tchida called her insurer to add more items to the “damaged” list, including a swing set, two grills, part of her deck, and even some pool floats, but Tchida was stopped before she could float to safety and out of this scam.
Instead of an adjuster visiting her home to assess the damage, the insurer requested Tchida provide documentation of wrecked items. She submitted a receipt for a $3,500 swing set on Nov. 29, however, the receipt was dated Nov. 28, and the insurer had already reimbursed her for the fraudulent damages. Also, at that time, Tchida withdrew her claim for the one of the grills after her insurance company contacted Sears, who had no record of the purchase.
Now facing felony charges after her second attempted scam in a little over a year, Tchida may be handed 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine. Besides the possibility of having to give up her freedom and a hefty chunk of change, it looks like Tchida also lost the chance to host a really awesome barbeque.
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