Two men convicted of mail fraud

CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Two West Virginia men pled guilty today to mail fraud, Acting United States Attorney Betsy Steinfeld Jividen announced.

Dallas Lewis, age 55, of Clarksburg, pled guilty to one count of “Conspiracy to Commit Mail Fraud.” Lewis admitted to conspiring with others to file false insurance claims from staged motor vehicle accidents. Lewis would then receive a portion of the insurance settlement in each filing. The crimes happened between January 2012 and August 2014 in Taylor, Harrison, and Marion Counties.

Charles Bonner, age 34, of Morgantown, pled guilty to one count of “Mail Fraud.” Bonner admitted to taking part in a staged vehicular accident in January 2012 in Harrison County. He also admitted to faking injuries from said accident and filing a false insurance claim, from which he, and others, received insurance settlements of approximately $101,500. Bonner also admitted his role in procuring an insurance settlement check in someone else’s name in the amount of $46,500.

Lewis and Bonner each face up to twenty years incarceration and a $250,000 fine. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendants.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew R. Cogar prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The West Virginia Insurance Commission Office of Inspector General and the United States Postal Inspection Service investigated.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael John Aloi presided.