A teenager in Buffalo, New York, who reportedly claimed his car was spraypainted with racial and homophobic slurs in October now faces charges of insurance fraud.
“Officials say 18-year-old Clifton Eutsey faces a third degree insurance fraud charge, a class D felony, after he allegedly vandalized his own vehicle on October 15,” WKBW reported.
The teen also faces three misdemeanor charges and was arraigned virtually November 10.
“It turns out that Mr. Eutsey did it himself,” Erie County District Attorney John Flynn stated. “He allegedly called the insurance company up to try to get a claim for the damage to his car.”
The graffiti on the vehicle reportedly included swastikas and the phrase “Trump 4 President,” according to the Buffalo News.
“The 2004 BMW also had its windshield smashed and sugar poured in its gas tank,” the article said, adding that there was video evidence to support the fraud allegation.
Eutsey also has pending felony charges in another case, according to a news release from the Erie County District Attorney’s Office:
It is alleged that on October 24, at approximately 9:00 p.m., Buffalo Police officers observed the defendant leave a vehicle unattended with the engine running outside of a home on Erskine Avenue. The defendant allegedly returned and drove on Erskine Avenue toward Suffolk Street when he was stopped by Buffalo Police. Officers allegedly found that the defendant was driving without a license and had two loaded, illegal firearms on his person.
The defendant was arraigned before Buffalo City Court Judge Amy C. Martoche on two counts of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, Class “C” violent felonies, on October 25, 2020. He was also charged with vehicle and traffic law violations for driving without a license and leaving a motor vehicle unattended.
Eutsey was released on his own recognizance for the insurance fraud charges and scheduled to return on January 11 for a felony hearing.
If convicted, he faces up to seven years in prison, the release concluded.
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