State investigators say 2 men filed false car insurance claims in Arnold

Two men from Cambria County face a string of felony charges after state investigators accused them of filing fraudulent insurance claims in 2020 with an agent in Arnold for three vehicles they owned together.

Calvin Marcell Booker, 26, and David James Gaida, 23, both of the 400 block of Gallitain Road in Cresson, were charged by a state Attorney General’s Office agent with 16 counts — a dozen of which are felonies — that include insurance fraud, conspiracy, theft by deception and filing false documents.

The men were released from custody after posting an unsecured $25,000 bond. They face preliminary hearings before New Kensington District Judge Frank J. Pallone Jr. on June 30, according to court records.

The agent wrote in a criminal complaint charging the pair that they added a 2002 Chevrolet Corvette to an existing Geico insurance policy six days after receiving notice that the policy would be canceled, on Oct. 26, 2020, for failing to pay the premiums.

On the day the policy was set to expire, they filed a claim for damage caused to the Corvette by paint splatters while following a line-painting truck, the complaint said. That claim was denied by the company on Nov. 11.

About 45 minutes after filing the the claim, the men obtained a policy from a State Farm agent in Arnold without disclosing that the paint was damaged, the complaint said.

On Oct. 29, they filed a claim with State Farm for the paint damage but told them it happened that same day, investigators said. The pair withdrew the claim in January 2021, the complaint said.

Booker and Gaida also are accused of adding a 2006 Ford Mustang to their State Farm policy on Nov. 10, 2020 and then filing a claim two days later for nearly $7,000 worth of damage, investigators said. They told the insurance agent the car was “pristine” when they bought it, the complaint said.

But State Farm investigated and learned that the previous owner filed a damage claim for the car in May 2020 in Illinois, according to the complaint. The company provided police with photographs from a collision company there that showed identical damage to the vehicle, the complaint said.

The third fraudulent claim was for a 2012 Chevy Camaro that the men reported to Geico as stolen on Oct. 22, 2020, according to the complaint.

Investigators said the vehicle was recovered and taken to a salvage yard, where an adjuster for Geico determined on Nov. 24 that damage to the underside cost more to fix than the value of the car and issued a check to the men for $11,900, the complaint said.

The following day they bought a policy from Farmer’s insurance for the Camaro and then two days later, filed a claim for damage to the underside.

That claim was eventually withdrawn by the men, the complaint said.