Former Bel Air car dealership mechanic pleads guilty to a theft scheme [The Aegis, Bel Air, Md.]

Oct. 5—A former car mechanic in Bel Air pleaded guilty this week of theft scheme.

On Monday, Harford County Circuit Court Judge Diane Adkins-Tobin accepted a guilty plea to one count of theft scheme involving property valued at $100,000 or more from Kenneth Wayne Collins III, 36, of Parkville, who was employed at a Bel Air car dealership from January 8, 2018 to November 6, 2018, according to a news release from the Maryland Attorney General's Office.

According to the Maryland Attorney General's Office, Collins used information obtained in connection with his employment as a service technician to file over 260 fraudulent claims for fake mechanical repairs under vehicle service contracts issued by insurance companies including Zurich NA, Ally and Fidelity. Collins pocketed more than $223,000 in connection with his scheme, which continued from January 12, 2018 to May 29, 2019, the release said.

In an unrelated 2019 case, Collins pleaded guilty to insurance fraud in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City, and was granted probation before judgment. He was ordered to pay $10,272 in restitution, part of which he paid with the money that he received from the Harford County theft scheme.

Collins' laywer, Todd Yeary, was contacted but could not be reached.

Collins is scheduled to be sentenced later this year. Under the plea agreement, Collins faces a maximum sentence of five years of incarceration. He will have to pay restitution as a condition of probation.

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