Lower Salford husband and wife charged with insurance fraud in alleged $11K double recovery claim attempt

A Lower Salford husband and wife have been charged with felony insurance fraud and criminal attempted theft by the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General for teaming up in an alleged attempt to make a double recovery claim of $11,000 for three diamond wedding rings they claimed were stolen, according to an affidavit of probable cause.

Enmanuel Canela, 24, and Kathryn Keyser aka Kathryn Canela, 25, of the 200 block of Manor Road, Harleysville, were charged June 5 by authorities on alleged incidents that occurred starting in May 2023 and lasting seven months.

Canela and Keyser are accused of making a false statement to cause State Farm Insurance to pay insurance benefits, specifically Canela making a second claim for reimbursement for alleged stolen rings for which Keyser was already compensated, according to the complaint. They also face charges of felony criminal use of a phone, misdemeanor insurance fraud via application with false information, and criminal conspiracy to commit fraud and attempted theft, per court documents.

On Aug. 31, 2023, special agents with insurance fraud division of the state Office of the Attorney General’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation were assigned an insurance fraud referral from State Farm, which alleged Canela and Keyser were making two claims for one loss.

According to the affidavit, Keyser purchased a one-year State Farm Personal Articles insurance police on July 22, 2022, insuring three diamond rings belong to her and Canela: a platinum women’s engagement ring with one .70-carat round brilliant cut diamond and a 4-prong set and two .24-carat total brilliant cut diamonds, valued at $5,852; a Channel Black platinum men’s .40-carat diamond wedding ring, appraised at $3,057; and a Pave Back platinum .26-carat diamond wedding ring, with 26 black stones, appraised at $2,038.

Police allege on Oct. 24, 2022, Keyser filed a claim for three insured diamond rings, claiming they were stolen from a locker at an amusement park on Oct. 22, 2022. Keyser reported she put the three rings in her bookbag, and then in an unlocked locker, police allege. Upon returning to the locker, they found it open and the bookbag with the rings was stolen, per the complaint.

Keyser, police allege, sought reimbursement for the value of the stolen rings: $11,478.

State Farm requested receipts and appraisals for each of the three rings, which Keyser provided from two area diamond merchants from June 2021 and September 2021, per the complaint.  Thus, State Farm reimbursed Keyser $11,423 to resolve the claim.

Seven months pass, and then, on May 5, 2023, Canela purchased a separate State Farm personal articles police insuring the same three rings, which State Farm had already paid to replace, police allege.

On May 14, 2023, police allege Canela filed a claim that the same three rings had been stolen while they played volleyball and did other activities at Nockamixon Park in Bucks County. The couple told State Farm that they placed a bookbag with the three rings inside on a picnic table, so they could play sports, per the complaint.

Upon their return, similar to the amusement park incident, the bookbag was gone and presumably stolen, police said.  Canela then sought reimbursement of $11,478, authorities said. Once again, State Farm asked for receipts and appraisals for the rings, and police allege Canela provided the exact same copies of the appraisals the Keyser had allegedly previously submitted in her claim seven months earlier.

On June 21, 2023, a State Farm special investigations agent spoke with Keyser via phone regarding her husband’s claim for three stolen rings, according to the affidavit. Keyser told State Farm, per the complaint, that they had the rings in their possession on May 14 when they went to Nockamixon, where they played volleyball and went for a walk. Keyser, authorities allege, told State Farm the rings were put in a gray and black Wawa bag because they feared they might slip off during activities.

The theft was reported to a park ranger, Keyser alleged in the complaint, who advised the park could not help because whatever is brought to the park is the responsibility of the visitor.

Authorities said Keyser gave a description of the rings to the insurance company, which matched the description of the rings stolen in October 2022. When asked if she insured the rings before, Keyser denied that she had, despite a policy she purchased in October 202 insuring the exact same things, police allege.

When asked by State Farm if she ever made prior claims for a loss of rings, Keyser said she had not, despite making a claim and receiving $11,423, authorities allege.

The State Farm investigator then described the insurance policy the Keyser allegedly purchased on July 22, 2022 for the same three rings and the subsequent claim she filed. After a lengthy pause, Keyser denied any knowledge of purchasing a policy and said she did not recall filing a previous claim, per the complaint.

When asked how the insurance company would have records showing she purchased a policy and made a successful claim, Keyser took another long pause and said she had no idea how that could have happened, police allege.  

Next, Canela was interviewed by State Farm investigators on June 16, 2023, where he confirmed the park trip and that, because they had planned to play volleyball and take a walk, they had placed the rings in a backpack and left it on a picnic table, unattended, police said.

Police allege in the complaint that this raised the question of why the couple would bring the rings to the park when they planned to take them off anyway to play sports.

Furthermore, the couple stated they went to the park that day to celebrate Mother’s Day, but neither brought their mother, police said. Keyser, police allege, denied any children accompanied them, but Canela said they took children to the playground.

Canela claimed the rings had never been insured before and denied ever losing the rings or other jewelry in the past, despite his wife’s alleged claim that his wedding ring was stolen seven months earlier, police said. He also said when he purchased the policy he provided the previous appraisal paperwork for his wife’s two rings rather than the actual rings, police said.

Authorities said it was unusual that neither Keyser nor Canela listed their spouse on their respective insurance applications, and Canela applied for the policy by giving his first name as “Canela” and his last name as “Enmanuel Santiago,” in order to prevent State Farm from linking the two claims for the same jewelry, authorities allege in the affidavit.

When the time came for State Farm to schedule the couple to undergo depositions under oath, Canela pulled his claim on July 7, 2023, per the complaint. Before closing the claim, authorities allege Canela told State Farm that the rings insured on May 5, 2023 were replacement look-alike rings that Keyser purchased to replace the rings allegedly stolen in October 2022.

However, police said Canela could not provide a value of the rings, where his wife purchased them, or any documentation of a purchase, police said.  

Each are free on $10,000 unsecured bail, per court records. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for both defendants on July 17 at 9:45 a.m. before Magisterial District Judge Adam T. Katzman.

All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using public court records.