Ford City insurance agent guilty of working with lapsed license, taking money for bogus policy

An Armstrong County insurance agent pleaded guilty to operating with an expired license and taking money from a customer for a policy that never was issued.

Last summer, the state Attorney General’s Officie charged Thomas John Scheeren, 42, of the 100 block of Sherwood Drive in East Franklin with felony counts of theft, theft by deception and working without a license, along with counts of tampering with records and misappropriation of funds.

Scheeren pleaded guilty to the charges in Armstrong County Court on July 25. He was sentenced to two years of probation, according to court records.

An agent from the Attorney General’s Office began investigating Scheeren when a couple from Ford City filed a written complaint with the state Insurance Department after learning the insurance on their SUV was expired because the premium wasn’t paid in April 2021, according to a criminal complaint in support of the charges.

The couple told investigators they drove without insurance for a year because they didn’t know the payment had not been made and the policy had been canceled, the complaint said.

Investigators said the notifications about nonpayment and cancellation of the couple’s policy from Encompass Insurance were sent to Scheeren’s agency in Ford City instead of the couple’s home.

The couple said they thought their vehicle was insured because Scheeren issued them a financial responsibility card after taking payment for the policy, investigators said. They used the card when the vehicle was taken to a mechanic for its annual safety inspection, the complaint said.

Investigators said the couple began inquiring about their insurance policy after they called Scheeren’s office in March 2022 to renew coverage and were told the business was sold to another agency and they were not listed as customers.

The state Department of Insurance told investigators that Scheeren’s license to work as an agent expired in May 2020, the complaint said.

The couple provided authorities with a copy of the canceled check written to Scheeren, and investigators obtained records from S&T Bank showing the check was deposited into Scheeren’s account, according to his arrest papers.

A review of Scheeren’s bank account found he did not transfer the money to Encompass Insurance, the complaint said.