Four Mahoning Valley men indicted on federal charges

CLEVELAND — Four Mahoning Valley men were named in a federal indictment today, accused of staging a car accident at a Boardman business to collect insurance money.

James J. Landis, Thomas V. Franco, Paul “Jeff” Amon and Joseph P. Amon were named in the indictment. Landis, owner of Mum’s the Word Florist in Boardman, is accused of conspiring with the Amon brothers, owners of M and J Properties Group Inc., a Canfield construction business.

The indictment alleges that Landis told Joseph Amon about financial difficulties at the florist shop. About a week later, Paul Amon returned with Franco to Landis’ shop and the three agreed that Franco would drive a truck into the shop, pretending it was an accident, according to the indictment.

Franco drove the vehicle into the florist shop Jan. 27, 2010. Landis would later receive $73,423.57 from Travelers Insurance and Franco would receive $11,925.27 for the damaged vehicle from Grange Insurance. Westford Insurance sustained a loss of $9,056.33 from claims related to the crash, records state.

For the complete story, read Friday's Vindicator and Vindy.com