In late November 2020, James Richard Paulhamus submitted a claim to the Progressive Insurance Company for damage done to his 2010 Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck that was caused when he struck a deer, according to an affidavit. At the time, Paulhamus, of 10784 Route 87, had a $1,000 deductible on the policy, but he did not want to pay that so he received no payment, Special Agent Craig Pavlosky with the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General stated in the court document. In mid-March 2021, Paulhamus obtained a new policy in which the deductible was only $100, the agent

stated.

Paulhamus later submitted a second claim in which he stated he struck a second deer with the same

truck in April 2023. When Pavlosky showed him photos taken by the insurance company of the damaged truck for the first and second claims, “both sets of photos appeared to have the same damage,”

the agent wrote in the affidavit.

When confronted, Paulhamus admitted that he “messed up,” that he had provided the insurance company with “incorrect information” and that he had “lied to them” when he stated earlier that he had

his truck repaired after the first deer strike, according to the court document. The only actual damage from the second deer strike was “clips that may have fallen off from underneath” the truck, Pavolsky said. Paulhamus’ second claim to the insurance company, which was for $4,120, was denied, the agent said. Paulhamus, 56, told the investigator that when he submitted the second claim, he was having “some financial issues,” the affidavit stated. Recently arraigned on felony charges of insurance fraud and theft by deception before District Judge Judge Kirsten Garder, he has since waived his preliminary hearing and is free on $15,000 bail.