HARRISBURG, PA — Attorney General Dave Sunday announced new charges Tuesday against a Monroeville insurance agent accused of defrauding a longtime client out of more than $75,000 through a deceptive investment scheme.
According to investigators, 48-year-old Chad Skena allegedly persuaded an insurance customer to liquidate a retirement account and provide him with funds for what he described as a business opportunity. Authorities contend that Skena promised to repay the investment with $120,000 over one year but never returned any portion of the money.
Skena was charged in Armstrong County with insurance fraud, theft by deception, deceptive business practices, and securing execution of documents by deception. His bail was set at $50,000 unsecured, and a preliminary hearing is scheduled for October 14.
This marks the third set of charges brought against Skena by the Office of Attorney General’s Insurance Fraud Section since April 2024. Earlier cases involved allegations of stealing approximately $70,000 in client premium payments from 16 victims in Allegheny County between 2020 and 2022.
Attorney General Sunday said the repeated allegations illustrate a pattern of misconduct. “This defendant has repeatedly taken advantage of trusting clients to line his own pockets — this time, lying about an investment he knew full well did not even exist,” Sunday stated. “The publication of the defendant’s prior bad acts prompted this victim to come forward, and our Insurance Fraud Section took it from there.”
Authorities allege that Skena told the victim he was buying out his father’s insurance agency and sought an investor to support the purchase. After obtaining the money, investigators say Skena described the funds as a “personal loan” in a conversation with Progressive Insurance. He also provided the victim with a mortgage document as collateral, though prosecutors contend the terms rendered it worthless.
The Attorney General’s Office confirmed that Skena’s insurance licenses were revoked on March 17.
All charges are allegations, and a suspect, arrestee, or defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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