Armstrong County insurance agent accused of working with expired license, taking money for policy that wasn't issued

An Armstrong County insurance agent will stand trial on charges that he operated with an expired license and took money from a customer for a policy that never was issued.

The state attorney general charged Thomas John Scheeren, 41, of the 100 block of Sherwood Drive in East Franklin, with a felony count of working as an unlicensed insurance broker along with misdemeanor counts of theft, tampering with records, theft by deception and misappropriation of funds.

Scheeren waived his right to a preliminary hearing before District Judge J. Gary Decomo on Aug. 16 and was ordered to stand trial in Common Pleas Court. A trial date has not been set.

An agent from the Attorney General’s Office began investigating Scheeren after a couple from Ford City filed a written complaint with the state Insurance Department after learning the insurance on their SUV was expired because the premium wasn’t paid in April 2021, according to a criminal complaint.

The couple told investigators they drove without insurance for a year because they didn’t know the payment had not been made and the policy was canceled, the complaint said.

Investigators said the notifications about nonpayment and cancellation of the couple’s policy from Encompass Insurance were sent to Scheeren’s agency in Ford City instead of the couple’s home, the complaint said.

The couple said they thought their vehicle was insured because Scheeren issued them a financial responsibility card after taking payment for the policy, investigators said. They used the card when the vehicle was taken to a mechanic for its annual safety inspection, the complaint said.

Investigators said the couple began inquiring about their insurance policy after they called Scheeren’s office in March to renew coverage and were told the business was sold to another agency and they were not listed as customers.

The state Department of Insurance told investigators Scheeren’s license to work as an agent expired in May 2020, the complaint said.

The couple provided authorities with a copy of the canceled check written to Scheeren, and investigators obtained records from S&T Bank showing the check was deposited into Scheeren’s account, according to his arrest papers.

A review of Scheeren’s bank account found he did not transfer the money to Encompass Insurance, the complaint said.

Scheeren’s lawyer David Joel Shrager was not available for comment.