West Virginia mother, daughter charged with insurance fraud
A West Virginia woman and her daughter were arraigned Monday on charges including insurance fraud stemming from a crash last summer on Interstate 70 in North Franklin Township.
Beth A. Ross, 50, and her daughter, Kylie L. Smail, 21, both of Wheeling, also are charged by the state attorney general’s office with attempted theft by deception and conspiracy to commit insurance fraud.
Smail reportedly struck a rig while getting on the highway at the West Chestnut Street exit on July 17. She called her mother, who in turn contacted an insurance company online and obtained a new policy 10 minutes after the crash, according to allegations outlined in court documents.
Smail reportedly claimed that she was in the parking lot of Washington Crown Center when she obtained the policy online, before she got onto the highway. Both Smail and Ross allegedly admitted to lying about having coverage before the crash.
Ross reportedly told the investigator that she had allowed her auto insurance to lapse a month before the crash. She said her daughter was not aware that there was no insurance on the vehicle.
The two waived their cases to court before District Judge Robert Redlinger. They are free on $5,000 unsecured bonds.