CHICORA — A Cherry Township man bought an insurance policy after being involved in an accident last fall and then tried to file a claim for the crash, county detectives said.

District Judge Lewis Stoughton of Chicora on Tuesday arraigned 21-year-old Michael L. Miano on a felony charge of insurance fraud. He is free on his own recognizance.

Butler County detectives were alerted about the case earlier this month after a fraud investigator for Safe Auto uncovered the alleged scam, court documents said.

The company official revealed that the suspect on Nov. 28 purchased an insurance policy for his pickup truck, Two days later, he called the company and reported a claim related to an accident.

Miano reported that he was driving his pickup Nov. 29 when he backed into a parked car in Clay Township.

But the Safe Auto investigator later learned from a witness, documents said, that the accident happened Nov. 25 or 26, and that the defendant was driving his father’s pickup.

Detectives on Monday interviewed Miano, who allegedly corroborated the witness’ account and admitted trying to file a false claim.

“He stated he did these things as he didn’t want his father’s rates to increase,” detectives said in charging papers, “and he was not supposed to have his father’s truck that night.”

Documents noted that the car that was hit in the accident sustained more than $3,000 in damage.

A preliminary hearing for Miano is set for Feb. 21.