Lower Burrell couple charged with fraud over insurance claim on jewelry

A Lower Burrell couple face fraud charges after police say they filed an insurance claim for gold and diamond jewelry and a Louis Vuitton handbag they reported stolen after selling the items.

William Leonard Klems II, 41, and Kaylyn Leeann Klems, 31, of the 100 block of Chippawa Drive, each were charged with felony counts of filing a false insurance claim and insurance fraud along with filing a false police report, according to court records.

They face preliminary hearings on the charges before District Judge Cheryl Peck Yakopec on Aug. 23. The pair were charged by summons, according to court records.

Investigators said William Klems reported to police May 31 that he noticed four rings and a gold cross were missing from a jewelry box that was kept in a bedroom closet, according to a criminal complaint.

Klems said other gold items were still in the jewelry box, but his wife’s Louis Vuitton purse, which cost $1,849.70, was gone from its location on the closet floor, the complaint said.

Police said Klems told them that the last time he opened the jewelry box was a year ago.

Investigators said they used a website that tracks the sale of precious metals to pawn shops, jewelry stores and cash-for-gold businesses. They learned that Klems sold nine pieces of jewelry to the Community Gold and Jewelry Buyers of Western Pennsylvania store on Tarentum Bridge Road in New Kensington last September and was paid $1,357, the complaint said.

Police said that, while interviewing the couple, Klems told them that he inherited the jewelry from his mother after she died last year.

But the couple raised suspicions when Klems “dismissed” his wife’s comment when she asked if the items he inherited were the same ones he sold to a pawn shop, the complaint said.

During the investigation, police showed Kaylyn Klems photographs of four rings and asked if any of them were among the ones her husband reported stolen, the complaint said.

She responded that she did not recognize the rings, police said.

Investigators said the photos were of rings Kaylyn Klems had sold to Community Gold and Jewelry Buyers for $296 on Dec. 7.

The following day, police were contacted by an Allstate insurance employee who told them that William Klems requested that their claim be canceled because the missing jewelry was pawned by his wife, according to the complaint.

Several days later, police said, they showed William Klems photos of a number of jewelry items that were sold to Community Gold. Among the items were two gold chains, one of which had a cross with a diamond center, the complaint said.

Both were identified by Klems as the ones that were stolen, police said.

After seeing the pictures, Klems told police, “I can’t believe I forgot I pawned my necklace,” the complaint said.

Police said Kaylyn Klems also admitted to selling the Louis Vuitton bag online.