(Dearborn County, IN) – An Aurora man turned himself in to the Dearborn County Law Enforcement Center on a warrant from Dearborn Circuit Court on April 29.
Christopher Schwab is charged with five counts of Forgery, five counts of Fraud, four counts of Fraud on a Financial Institution, one count of Theft, and one count of Corrupt Business Influence.
The charges stem from an Indiana State Police investigation that began last June.
The initial complaint was that Schwab, the owner of Claims Management Specialist had cashed three separate, three-party checks by allegedly forging signatures.
Schwab, who is a public adjuster, also owned a roofing company named Over the Top Roofing.
Dearborn County Prosecutor Lynn Deddens says Schwab’s alleged victims did not give him or his company permission to sign checks on their behalf.
Other victims said they did not sign contracts granting Schwab permission to bill their insurance company.
Schwab then allegedly took the three-party checks to various banks in attempt to deposit them in his account.
He is also facing charges filed by Indiana Conservation Officers on April 30, ranging from Illegal Take of Deer, Shooting from Highway, Hunting with Silencer, Hunting with Aid of Motor Driven Conveyance, Failure to Retrieve Game, Hunt with Infrared Equipment, and Deer Hunt Outside Legal Hours (all misdemeanors), and Level 6 felon Criminal Recklessness with a Deadly Weapon.
Conservation officers say they received complaints form citizens about deer being shot and killed from a roadway in southern Dearborn County.
Another complaint alleged that a homeowner was sitting on the back deck of its residence in Tall Oak Drive last September, and allegedly saw someone in a vehicle shooting from the car and killing a whitetail deer in his back yard.
Investigators say after the animal was killed, the vehicle took off.
It was reported that the person who shot the deer did not use a spotlight or flashlight to illuminate the deer before it was shot, and there was no loud “crack” sound similar to what a high-power rifle would make.
There were other reports of deer being shot and killed in the Dutch Hollow area.
A warrant for GPS data relating to the deer being shot from the roadway on September 24 allegedly placed Schwab’s cell phone in close proximity of where the deer was shot.
Schwab appeared in Dearborn Superior Court II before Judge Sally McLaughlin for his initial hearing last Thursday.
His pretrial hearing was originally scheduled for this morning but has been re-set for August 5.
