Columbia Falls man sentenced for insurance fraud

A 61-year-old Columbia Falls man was given a six-year deferred sentence June 28 in Flathead District Court after a jury convicted him of insurance fraud.

Richard Schaeffer had received more than $25,000 from Penn-American Insurance Co. after alleging that the roof of his Trumbull Creek Road home, which had not previously leaked, began leaking after a new metal roof was installed on the home by Schweigert Roofing.

He previously had received approximately $4,500 from American Hallmark Insurance Co. after claiming a metal roof supplied by Glacier Steel Roofing Products, Inc. and installed by Diamond H Construction & Exteriors also had leaked.

Schaeffer did not tell representatives from Penn-American Insurance Co. that the roof had leaked prior to the work done by Schweigert Roofing. The adjuster later stated he would have denied the $25,000 claim had he known about the prior issues.

Along with the deferred sentence, Shaeffer was ordered to repay the second claim to the insurance company and was further ordered to pay $500 of a $1,000 fine as well as a supervision fee to be determined by his probation officer.