HARRISBURG — Attorney General Dave Sunday announced that the owner of Pittsburgh-based Vince’s Towing has pleaded guilty to felony charges regarding tow costs inflated by charging “accident services” fees and other deceptive practices.
An Allegheny County Court Judge ordered 57-year-old Vincent G. Fannick to pay $379,279 to avoid going to jail, while also prohibiting Fannick from working in the tow industry.
The Office of Attorney General, assisted by the Allegheny County Police Department, investigated Fannick’s predatory towing practices, which involved astronomical bills for short tow trips.
Fannick pleaded guilty to felony theft by deception and insurance fraud and misdemeanor execution of documents by deception.
He will serve five years on probation, with the first six months on house arrest. He will only avoid jail if he pays the full restitution amount within 30 days.
“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 uncovered a pattern of Fannick charging consumers’ insurance companies with exorbitant tow costs by, initially, not revealing prices on invoices, then charging “accident services” fees.
“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.”
Fannick is also required to participate in a public service announcement for the Insurance Fraud Prevention Authority about predatory towing.
Investigators learned of the crimes in 2023, when a consumer reported their insurance company was charged $11,390 by Vince’s Towing — for a short-trip tow the vehicle owner did not even request. Of that total, $4,250 was designated as an “accident services” fee.
Law enforcement learned other consumers that were subjected to the same scam. Some vehicle owners’ insurance companies were charged between $9,460 and $13,105 for single, short-trip tows. In one case, Fannick charged $9,805 for towing a vehicle one-third of a mile.
Pennsylvania officials have been amping up efforts to educate consumers about predatory tow companies. The Pennsylvania Insurance Fraud Prevention Authority has a public awareness campaign based at www.knowyourtow.org.
Fannick was prosecuted by the Office of Attorney General’s Insurance Fraud Section.
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