A wild cheating scandal has gripped the Ohio fishing community after two individuals were accused of stuffing fish with weights during a tournament in late September. Now, those two individuals have been indicted on a series of charges, including Grand Theft, per Field Yates of ESPN.

Jacob Runyan, 42, and Chase Cominsky, 35, were indicted on felony charges of grand theft, cheating, and possessing criminal tools, as well as misdemeanor charges of unlawfully owning wild animals. The pair were discovered to have cheated during an Ohio fishing tournament in late September after the Lake Erie Walleye Trail tournament director grew wary of their surprisingly heavy catches.

Jason Fischer, the tournament director, noticed that Cominsky and Runyan were catching fish significantly heavier than the walleye typically found in the area. After reviewing his suspicions, Fischer cut open some of the pair's fish in front of crowd of bystanders, revealing large lead balls and walleye filets to have been stuffed inside the fish.

ESPN reports that Runyan and Cominksy stood to receive more than $28,000 in prize money had they won the tournament, so it's a substantial amount of cash at stake here. The two are set to be arraigned on Oct. 26.

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Footage of the lead weights and filets being removed from the fish made the rounds online in early October, and it's shocking, to say the least.

 

This isn't the first time suspicions arose regarding Cominsky and Runyan. ESPN reports that Rossford police were investigating the duo for similar allegations after a tournament back in April, but had insufficient evidence at the time.