Two fishermen at the center of a cheating scandal that rocked the sport fishing world last month were indicted on multiple felonies on Wednesday and accused of stuffing their catch with metal weights at a tournament in Ohio to win tens of thousands of dollars in prize money.
Jacob Runyan, 42, and Chase Cominsky, 35, have been charged in Cleveland with fraud, attempted grand larceny, possession of criminal tools and misdemeanor possession of wild animals.
Neither Runyan nor Cominsky immediately responded to Washington Post requests for comment. Court records do not yet list attorneys for the men.
The charges stem from the final championship competition of the Lake Erie Walleye Trail fishing tournament on September 30. Runyan and Cominsky, a fishing team of two, appeared to have won the one-day event in Cleveland after submitting five fish weighing nearly 34 pounds. That catch would also have earned them the award for Team of the Year – and almost $30,000 – as they had won several other events in recent months.
But tournament director Jason Fischer told The Post in the days after the tournament that he became suspicious when Runyan and Cominsky’s catch was officially weighed and the scales topped 30 pounds. Eyeing the entry, Fischer had estimated the set of five fish would weigh around 20 pounds.
“It kind of discouraged me because I just knew it wasn’t right,” Fischer told The Post.
Acting on a hunch, Fischer grabbed one of the fish and felt something hard in his stomach. Then he cut open the dead zander and made a surprising discovery.
“We have weights in fish!” yelled Fischer, pulling out one of 10 weights found in Runyan and Cominsky’s entry.
As Runyan stood red-faced just feet away, Fischer dramatically disqualified him and Cominsky, according to a minute-long video Fischer shared with The Post.
“Get out!” barked the Tournament Director, using a swear word to emphasize the point.
Fishermen Jacob Runyan and Chase Cominsky were disqualified from a fishing tournament in Cleveland on September 30 after allegedly stuffing their fish with weights. (Video: Jackson Barton, Sarah Parnass/Washington Post)
After Runyan and Cominsky were disqualified, tournament organizers contacted the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, spokeswoman Stephanie O’Grady told The Post earlier this month. Wildlife officials went to the venue where they gathered evidence and began work on a report for the Cuyahoga County Attorney’s Office.
Runyan and Cominsky are scheduled to be charged in the Cuyahoga County Criminal Court on October 26.
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