An Upstate New York contractor has been charged with inflating an insurance claim for damage from a faulty plumbing fixture, according to New York State Insurance Department.
Investigators say the contractor, Joseph Watson, filed a $7,800 claim with Chartis Insurance Co. after he installed a faucet that proved to be defective and caused water damage to a house he was working on. He later admitted to investigators that the actual damages amounted to just $1,000. Chartis insures the manufacturer of the faucet.
Watson was charged with third degree insurance fraud.
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