A Pennsylvania woman faces charges of insurance fraud after an investigation proved that she faked an injury at a car wash to collect a settlement.
Authorities charged Diane Ann Sherupski, 58, of Coal Township, Pa., with one count each of insurance fraud and criminal attempt of theft by deception on December 7, 2010. Those allegations stem from Sherupski's claim that she was injured in a fall at the Mid-Towne Car Wash in Shamokin on Jan. 4, 2008.
According to her initial story, Sherupski was on her way to the change machine with a handful of cash when she fell, and dropped the money. After picking up the dollar bills, she got back into her car and drove away without washing the vehicle. During her fall, she suffered a cut on her hand, and a lower back injury. Apparently the alleged injuries were not so severe that Sherupski needed immediate treatment, as she waited until Jan. 12 to go to the emergency room.
After her hospital visit, Sherupski hired an attorney, who sent a letter to the owner of the car wash claiming that she had sustained severe bodily injury from a fall on the property. She then recorded a statement to the insurance company to collect payments because her injuries prevented her from returning to her job as a teacher's aide for her local school district.
When the insurance company denied Sherupski's claim, a civil lawsuit was filed against the owner of the car wash. During her testimony in the case, Sherupski changed her story in a number of ways, first blaming her fall on wet, uneven concrete, and then stating that she did wash her vehicle before leaving.
Not only was her own story working against her, but investigators obtained security tapes of her visit to the car wash, which did not show Sherupski falling at any time during the visit. The lawsuit was dismissed March 19, 2010, because Sherupski failed to establish a right to relief.
She was released on $5,000 unsecured bail, and a preliminary hearing for her sentence is scheduled for this month. In this case it's true that you never know whom you might meet at the car wash--a movie star or even a thief.
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