A Cranberry Township man faces charges that he filed an insurance claim for damage to his uninsured vehicle. The state Attorney General's office charged Edward J. Baurle, 24, on Wednesday with felonies of insurance fraud and theft.

The charges stem from an accident that occurred last year. Baurle registered a Yamaha utility terrain vehicle on Aug. 20, 2020, with his insurance company, Nationwide. On Nov. 9, Baurle claimed that he damaged the vehicle in Ohio when it rolled over several times. The insurance company paid for the damages but later that month investigators were looking into an anonymous tip that claimed Baurle damaged his vehicle before it was insured.

Baurle's attorney, Casey White, could not be reached for comment.

Baurle was arraigned Wednesday and released on his own recognizance.

According to charging documents, Baurle added a 2019 Yamaha UTV to his existing motorcycle policy on Aug. 20, 2020. He indicated that he bought the vehicle in October 2019.

On Nov. 9, 2020, Baurle called Nationwide Insurance and claimed he was trail riding in Wellsville, Ohio, two days earlier and his vehicle rolled down a hill after losing control.

The insurance company granted him $12,641.21 for the damages.

On Nov. 30, Derek Davis, a special investigator with the insurance company, received an anonymous tip from the National Insurance Crime Bureau claiming that Baurle had wrecked and totaled his vehicle Aug. 14 when it was uninsured and waited to file a claim until he got insurance.

An insurance agent began investigating by finding numerous Instagram posts from Baurle showing that the damages were from February and June 2020, before Baurle got his vehicle insured.

Davis confronted Baurle, who allegedly admitted the damages happened before his vehicle was insured.

The Attorney General's Insurance Fraud Section reviewed the insurance company's claim and investigation into the alleged fraud. An agent with the Attorney General's office spoke to Baurle. He allegedly told authorities that the he wrecked the vehicle several times over a period when it wasn't insured. Investigators with the Attorney General also spoke with a witness who observed Baurle allegedly roll the vehicle over on Aug. 14, 2020.