Insurance agent faces fraud charges

A Monroeville insurance agent is accused of taking $60,000 from customers by offering services that didn't exist, according to Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry.

Henry announced felony and misdemeanor theft and fraud charges April 12 against Chad G. Skena, 47, of Monroeville.

Skena, who operates an insurance agency in his name, offered to "bundle" existing customers' insurance policies and offered "special covid 19" rates between 2020 and 2022, promising to save them money, Henry said in a news release.

Police and prosecutors say Skena then misappropriated the money -- ranging from $800 to $24,000 per customer -- and deposited it into his own personal accounts.

The investigation began when a Safeco insurance customer called the attorney general's insurance fraud investigations division to report that Skena had offered to reduce their auto insurance premiums by "bundling" their policies, according to a criminal complaint.

Police said Skena took multiple credit card numbers from the customer and claimed that attempted payments were rejected, but instead processed the payments, deposited the funds into a PayPal account and withdrew a cash advance. He would then tell the customer the following day that the charges had been approved, and the "excess" amount from the second credit card would be returned.

The customer told investigators Skena gave several subsequent excuses for why the money hadn't been returned, ultimately prompting them to file a complaint.

Skena is charged with 27 counts of theft, 17 of them felonies. His attorney, Patrick Thomassey of Monroeville, said his client is remorseful.

"I think a lot of this has been taken care of already, in terms of the money being paid back," Thomassey said. "He's certainly embarrassed by it and has some personal problems in his life. It's not an excuse, but we're going to try and work it out."

Investigators worked with Murrysville police, who also investigated Skena for a suspected theft and fraud case. In that case, he allegedly made more than $8,900 in unauthorized withdrawals from a customer's PNC Bank account after they agreed to an insurance deal, according to court records.

The attorney general's investigation came to encompass policyholders from multiple insurance companies, some of which were conducting their own investigations, police said.

"This defendant's predatory actions allegedly cost consumers thousands of dollars -- consumers who thought they were being offered discounts," Henry said.

Skena was released on bail and had an April 22 preliminary hearing in District Judge Jeffrey Herbst's Monroeville court.