MONTGOMERY COUNTY MAN CHARGED WITH FELONY INSURANCE FRAUD

Attorney General J. Joseph Curran, Jr. announced today that Darryl R. Hardy of the 9600 block of Forest View Place in Montgomery County has been arrested after being charged with several counts of felony insurance fraud and felony theft. The indictment follows a joint investigation conducted by the Office of the Attorney General, the Insurance Fraud Division of the Maryland Insurance Administration and the Maryland State Police.

In a twenty-one-count indictment filed in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, Hardy was charged with submitting numerous insurance claims totaling more than $29,000.00 between October of 2001 and March of 2005 wherein he reported that his vehicle had been damaged by debris falling from another vehicle when, in fact, no such incident occurred. In many instances, according to the indictment, he did not even own the vehicle purportedly damaged. Mr. Hardy is being held in the Montgomery County Detention Center in lieu of $75,000 bail.

If convicted, the defendant could face up to fifteen years in prison on each count. No trial date has been set. A criminal indictment is merely an accusation of wrongdoing, and every individual is presumed innocent until the charges are proven by the State.  

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