FRASER, Mich. – Two Fraser men face false pretenses charges while their towing company is accused of committing insurance fraud.
Fraser police say the owners of Foster's Towing committed insurance fraud against AAA between April 2013 and June 2014.
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The false tows reported to AAA allegedly were from Fraser addresses to areas throughout the state of Michigan. Police say they were doing this to add mileage so more could be charged to the insurance company. In reality, the tows were much shorter or never happened, according to police.
Foster's Towing obtained the AAA members' numbers by completing work on some of the members' vehicles or by doing short-distance tows, but then charging the longer distances to the insurance company.
Police say employees at the towing company were calling in tows for their own vehicles. The Macomb Auto Theft Squad investigated the complaint from AAA because Foster's Towing is the tow company used by the Fraser Department of Public Safety.
Warrants were obtained for 70-year-old Gilbert Foster and 44-year-old James Foster, the two owners. Gilbert is charged with false pretenses ($1,000-$20,000) and James is charged with false pretenses ($200-$1,000). Both were arraigned Dec. 4.
Fraser police have suspended Foster's Towing's business activity. The company's contract with the police department has been ended. Police say as many as five employees at the company may have been involved in the insurance fraud, but no one else has been charged.
Here is a statement from AAA:
"AAA terminated its relationship with Foster's Towing earlier this year and notified the Fraser Police Department of concerns we had with a number of its billings to us. Criminal legal proceedings have now been filed against its owner. Because this is an ongoing legal matter, it would be inappropriate for us to provide more details. We want to assure our AAA members, especially those in the Fraser area, that this matter has no adverse impact on their AAA membership or our services available to them. Our actions are clearly in our members' best interest."