A Fenelton man is accused of crashing his vehicle on purpose to collect an insurance payout, police said.

Matthew Joseph Boyle, 22, was charged Thursday, Sept. 18, with one felony count each of filing a false insurance claim and theft following an Aug. 10 crash in Clearfield Township.

Police said they received a report from the National Insurance Crime Bureau related to suspected insurance fraud around Aug. 10 in the Fenelton area. The report alleged Boyle had staged a crash in his 2019 Chevrolet Trax to dispose of the vehicle for insurance money from Allstate Insurance.

Police said Boyle had submitted a claim that a deer ran into the left side of his vehicle while driving along Cornetti Road, which caused Boyle to drive off the road into a tree. Allstate paid out $15,344.82 for the claim.

The submitted insurance claim included a video from inside the vehicle. Police said the video shows Boyle driving the vehicle off the road toward the line of trees, but there is a sudden movement before impact as if the operator had jumped out of the vehicle.

Police said the video then cuts to black and Boyle can be seen standing outside the driver’s side door looking into the vehicle. Police said the air bags deployed, but no deer or other animals could be seen in the video.

Police said they learned Boyle had repeatedly asked people how he could “get rid of the car” and sent a video of the crash along with incriminating texts to one person.

Police said Boyle owed more money on the car than it was worth.

From the $15,344.82 insurance payout, police found $15,214.82 had been paid to USX Federal Credit Union, and $130 had been paid to Allstate Roadside Services.

Boyle’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Nov. 4 before District Judge Lewis Stoughton.