Two men who admitted to cheating in an Ohio fishing tournament last fall have been sentenced to ten-day jail terms and other penalties, including the forfeiture of a boat valued at $100,000.
Jacob Runyan, 43, and Chase Cominsky, 36, were sentenced on Thursday in Cleveland after pleading guilty in March to cheating and unlawful ownership of wild animals.
The bizarre cheating allegations surfaced in September, when Lake Erie Walleye Trail tournament director Jason Fischer became suspicious that the fish the duo turned in seemed significantly heavier than typical walleye.
A crowd of people at Gordon Park in Cleveland looked on as Fischer cut the freshwater fish open, and found lead weights and walleye fillets that had been stuffed down the throats of the fish.
Jacob Runyan, 42, of Broadview Heights, Ohio, and Chase Cominsky, 35, of Hermitage, Pennsylvania, have been sentenced to ten-day jail terms and other penalties
The pair (pictured) originally won the tournament, but they were replaced by Steve Hendricks after the weights were found. First place prize in the tournament totaled around $28,000
Runyan and Cominsky originally won the tournament, but they were replaced by Steve Hendricks after the weights were found and they were disqualified.
The first place prize in the tournament totaled around $28,000.
As part of their plea deal, Runyan and Cominsky also agreed to three-year suspensions of their fishing licenses. Cominsky agreed to give up his bass boat worth $100,000.
Prosecutors agreed to drop charges of attempted grand theft and possessing criminal tools.
Once the pair complete their 10-day county jail terms, they will serve a year and a half on probation and must each pay a $2,500 fine – though half the fine will be waived if they each make a $1,250 donation to a nonprofit organization that promotes fishing with children.
If they violate their probation, they could face an additional 30-day county jail sentence.
According to search warrant affidavits, five walleye the duo submitted in the tournament contained lead weights and fillets. Officers from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources confiscated the fish as evidence.
Court records also said that Runyan and Cominsky were investigated near Toledo in the spring of 2022 after being accused of cheating in a different walleye tournament.
Read Related Also: Blake Abbie Parents: June Wong Abbie And Robert Abbie
According to a police report, a prosecutor in Toledo concluded that although the men may have cheated, there was not enough evidence to charge them.
The dramatic discovery of the doctored fish was filmed and posted to social media. Runyan is seen being asked on video if has anything to say for himself but remains silent throughout.
The dramatic discovery of the doctored fish was filmed and posted to social media, showing the tournament director pulling lead weights from the innards of the fish
Cominsky agreed to give up his bass boat worth $100,000, which the duo used in the tournament. The boat was seized by authorities after the cheating scheme was uncovered
Runyan and Cominsky were indicted in October, and entered guilty pleas in March
The pair were called out as ‘cheaters’ on the Lake Erie Walleye Trail Championship official Facebook event page and will be banned from all future tournaments.
The cheating scandal has raised questions about other tournaments the pair have won in the past.
They have already claimed several first-place prizes and earned a considerable sum of money in various Lake Erie Walley Trail (LEWT) events, including the 2021 championship.
The duo scored the top catch in the 2021 Lake Erie Fall Brawl and attempted to claim the $100,000 prize but were disqualified.
At another event, the Rossford Walleye Roundup in Ohio, several competitors shared their suspicions that the pair’s fish ‘looked old’ and may have been stashed away prior to the start of the event.
Following the event, the pair decided not to donate their catch to a local food bank as most of the other fishermen proceeded to do.
