Authorities seized Chase Cominsky’s fishing boat and trailer as a tool of crime, after he and his fishing partner were indicted on charges of cheating during a fishing tournament.
Cuyahoga District Prosecutor’s Office
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Cuyahoga District Prosecutor’s Office
In hopes of winning a professional fishing tournament for nearly $30,000, Jake Runyan and Chase Cominsky illegally stacked up the deck of cards to their advantage, according to Ohio officials. Now, the couple have been charged with three counts each.
A grand jury indicted Runyan and Cominsky on charges of fraud, attempted grand theft and possession of criminal tools, according to the Cuyahoga district prosecutor’s office. The charges are a fifth-degree felony, which means each could face penalties of up to 12 months in prison and a $2,500 fine.
Prosecutor Michael C. O’Malley said: “I take any crime very seriously, and I believe that what these two individuals attempted to accomplish is not only abhorrent, but criminal.” said in a statement.
The anglers also face illegal possession of wildlife – a crime involving live fish they allegedly have on their boat. If they are convicted of that crime, their fishing license could be suspended indefinitely.
This is a clear case of piscine perfection broke out two weeks ago, when an inspection of Runyan and Cominsky’s catch at the Lake Erie Walleye Trail tournament in Cleveland discovered their fish had been stuffed with lead and fish fillets. They won the competition and the title of team of the year, along with a total prize pool of $28,760.
The bogus catch put the pair in first place at the tournament. But the event organizer suspects there is a difference between the normal sized fish and their oversized weight. And in a dramatic scene that plays out in front of Runyan and Cominsky’s deeply offended rivals, the dark horses are cut to reveal evidence of fraud.
“We have fish weights!” announced Jason Fischer, director of the Lake Erie Walleye Trail fishing tournament, in a widely viewed video from the scene.
After the indictment was announced this week, authorities seized Cominsky’s fishing boat and trailer as tools for the crime, and allege the team used the vehicle during the tournament.
Fishing tournaments like the Lake Erie walleye contest attract dozens of celebrity teams and sponsors. Along with cash, top prizes can include expensive fishing boats. To prevent fraud, high-stakes events often force winners to take multi-graph tests.
Runyan, who is from Cleveland, and Cominsky, who is from Hermitage, Pa., are nearing the end of a 2021 season in which Runyan once said their total winnings were more than 300,000 dollars. But the pair also saw some of their awards stripped due to high disqualification after one of them failed the tournament’s multi-point test.
