Sport fishermen accused of cheating charged with felonies in Ohio

Two sport fishermen accused of cheating at a Lake Erie event are now charged with three felonies and a misdemeanor.

Jake Runyan, 42, and Chase Cominsky, 35, are accused of stuffing their fish with tiny weights to make them appear more impressive. The event operator sliced open a fish to reveal the weights.

“I take all crime very seriously, and I believe what these two individuals attempted to do was not only dishonorable but also criminal,” Cuyahoga County prosecutor Michael C. O’Malley said in a statement.

Runyan and Cominsky would’ve reeled in nearly $30,000 as champions of the Lake Erie Walleye Trail tournament at the end of September.

But tournament leader Jason Fischer noticed something fishy when their catch was weighed. In a now-viral video, he grabbed a knife, sliced open a fish and angrily announced, “We got weights in fish!”

Runyan and Cominsky presented five fish. In total they were stuffed with eight 12-ounce weights and two 8-ounce weights, O’Malley said.

The two men were each charged with attempted grand theft, cheating and possessing criminal tools, all fifth-degree felonies. They were also charged with misdemeanor unlawful ownership of wild animals for stuffing the fish they presented with filets from other fish.

Each felony count carries a possible year-long prison sentence and $2,500 fine. The two men could also lose their fishing licenses if convicted on the misdemeanor count.