PA AG: Woman falsifies documents to win remodeling contract

Keith Gushard, The Meadville Tribune, Pa.
·2 min read

Nov. 1—LINESVILLE — A Harmonsburg woman is facing multiple charges filed by the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General for allegedly falsifying insurance documents for a business remodeling contract in March.

Taunya N. Shepard, 51, is accused of felony counts of insurance fraud, forgery and identity theft and a misdemeanor count of tampering with records or identification.

The office filed the charges Oct. 20 and Shepard was arraigned that same day before Magisterial District Judge Adam Stallard in Linesville.

A preliminary hearing in the case had been scheduled for Wednesday before Stallard. However, on Monday, Shepard's defense attorney, Emily Merski, an assistant public defender with Crawford County, asked for a continuance. No new date for the preliminary hearing has been scheduled as yet, according to court officials.

Shepard, owner of A-Z Building Concepts of Harmonsburg, created a fictitious document — a certificate of liability insurance dated March 28, 2022, according to the criminal complaint filed in the case.

Shepard then submitted the document to an area campground as proof of insurance for a $36,000 remodeling contract with the campground, according to the complaint. Shepard claimed the document was issued by an authorized insurance agent and/or Mutual Benefit Insurance Group, the complaint said.

When the campground owners contacted the insurance agent about the certificate of liability insurance, the insurance agent said it was not issued by her or the insurance agency, according to the arrest affidavit filed with the complaint.

In a Sept. 8 interview with investigators from the Office of Attorney General, Shepard admitted the certificate of liability insurance she had given the campground owners "was fictitious and a document she generated on her computer," the arrest affidavit said.

Shepard also admitted to investigators she had provided the document to the campground owners as proof of liability insurance, the arrest affidavit said.

Shepard remains free on her own recognizance pending her preliminary hearing on the charges.

Keith Gushard can be reached at (814) 724-6370 or by email at kgushard@meadvilletribune.com.