Raleigh, N.C. — A man and a teen are facing charges that they concocted a scheme to collect insurance for the theft of a truck that was never actually stolen.

On Feb. 27, William Wade Anderson III, 21, told police that someone stole his wallet, cell phone and 2007 Ford pickup truck while he was unloading trash into a dumpster, officers said.

Two days later, a Durham police detective saw someone driving the truck and called for assistance from additional officers.

The driver, 17-year-old Michael Lashawn Richardson, refused to stop for a Durham County sheriff’s deputy and instead drove off, stopping instead near the intersection of Obsidian Way and Thornwood Drive.

He fled into his residence in the 700 block of Obsidian Way, but surrendered a short time later, police said.

An investigation by Raleigh police detectives determined that a robbery did not occur. The reported theft of the truck was, instead, an attempt by Anderson to collect insurance funds through a cooperative effort with Richardson, police said.

Anderson was arrested on March 2 and charged with one count of attempting to obtain property by false pretense. Richardson was arrested on March 5 on the same charge.