A Pottstown, Pa., man was accused of fabricating and submitting a false $1.39 million insurance claim for storm damage to a series of modular townhomes that he owned and allegedly hid in protective wrapping for nearly a year.

Kevin P. Kollar

Kevin Paul Kollar, 48, allegedly filed an insurance claim in 2008 for water and wind damage that allegedly involved eight modular townhomes in the Pottstown area, according to the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Insurance Fraud Section. The vacant homes had been stored at an open lot in Pottstown and Kollar allegedly claimed they suffered extensive damage during a storm in March of that year.

Kollar claimed in the insurance filing that the homes were in “as new” condition, had been wrapped in protective materials and were personally inspected by him on a regular basis during the weeks leading up to the purported storm damage. The  homes were allegedly valued at $1,399,000.

Prosecutors say Kollar’s claims about the good condition of the homes prior to the storm were directly contradicted by observations and photographs taken by an employee of the business that sold the homes to Kollar.  “Those photos, taken almost one year before the ‘storm damage’ allegedly occurred, showed torn roofs, damage to ceilings and dry wall, collapsed interiors and ruined appliances, along with damaged cabinets and carpet,” Tom Corbett, Pennsylvania’s attorney general, said in a statement.

The damage was reported to Kollar shortly after it was discovered in April 2007, at which point Kollar allegedly ordered that the homes be wrapped in protective material without making any repairs, prosecutors said.

Nearly one year later, Kollar filed a claim with his insurance company, allegedly stating that the homes had suffered extensive wind and water damage during a storm in early March 2008.

Kollar is charged with one count of insurance fraud (related to claims containing false, incomplete or misleading information), one count of attempted theft by deception and one count of perjury, all third degree felonies, each punishable by up to seven years in prison and $15,000 fines.

Kollar also faces one count of insurance fraud (filing an application containing false information or concealing facts), a first-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Kollar was released on $10,000 unsecured bail with a preliminary hearing scheduled for Sept. 9.