A Wilkes-Barre, Pa., man faces charges of insurance fraud and false reports to police after a diner’s surveillance camera allegedly ruined claims his car was stolen.

Jeffrey Chell, 29, was arrested following an investigation into his report that his 1999 Nissan Maxima was involved in a crash late last year on Interstate 81, according to the Scranton Times-Tribune.

Citing information from the Northeastern Pennsylvania Insurance Fraud/Auto Theft Task Force, the report said Chell told police he left the keys under a floor mat in his Maxima parked outside Chick’s Diner in Wilkes-Barre and called his brother for a ride at 3:30 a.m. Dec. 24, 2009. Upon returning to the diner about 1:30 p.m. that day, he found the car missing and notified police.

Police later discovered that the car was involved in a crash off I-81 at 3:35 a.m., with its driver fleeing the scene of the accident.

A review of surveillance video at Chick’s found that Chell allegedly never appeared to call anyone before he left the restaurant around 3:30 a.m., the Times-Tribune reported.  A check of Chell’s cell phone records allegedly showed he called his brother three minutes after the Maxima was involved in the accident and his brother returned calls twice – at 3:36 a.m. and 4 a.m.

On Jan. 11, Chell filed a claim with Progressive Insurance, indicating that his car was stolen and that he was not driving at the time of the crash, the report said.