(WHTM)– The owner of a Pennsylvania-based towing company was ordered to pay $379,000 in restitution or face jail time for deceptive practices.

According to the office of Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday, Vincent G. Fannick, 57, the owner of Vince’s Towing in Pittsburgh, pleaded guilty to felony charges regarding tow costs inflated by an “accident services” fee and other deceptive practices.

The AG’s Office said that Fannick will pay $379,000 to avoid incarceration. He is also prohibited from working in the tow industry.

The AG’s Office’s investigation found that Fannick’s practices involved “astronomical bills” for short tow trips.

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Fannick was charged with theft by deception, insurance fraud, and misdemeanor execution of documents by deception.

“This defendant preyed on motorists in a pinch by hiding fees and inflating prices, leaving them and their insurance carriers with enormous bills to retrieve back their vehicles,” Attorney General Sunday said. “I commend our Insurance Fraud Section and law enforcement partners for reaching a resolution that gives the defendant two options — pay back what he took or go to prison.”

Investigators found that Fannick was not initially unveiling prices on invoices, then charging “accident services” fees, the AG’s office said.

The AG’s office said that a consumer reported Vince’s Towing charged their insurance company $11,390 for a short tow trip that the consumer had not requested in 2023.

“These actions targeted unsuspecting members of our community during their most vulnerable moments,” Superintendent Christopher Kearns of the Allegheny County Police Department said when charges were filed. “We’re grateful for our partnership with the Office of the Attorney General throughout the course of this lengthy investigation.”

The AG’s office said that Fannick is required to participate in a public service announcement for the Insurance Fraud Prevention Authority regarding predatory towing, as well as serve five years of probation, with the first six months on house arrest, provided he pays restitution within 30 days.

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