SALIDA, Colo. -- A hardware store owner has been arrested and accused of faking a burglary at his store, then filing a fake insurance claim and collecting more than $25,000, officials said.

James J. Fontana III, 39 of Salida, was arrested by Salida police officers Friday after his indictment by the Colorado state grand jury on felony charges of theft and forgery.

Fontana, who owns FCI Enterprises doing business as Salida True Value Hardware, is set to appear for a bond hearing on Jan. 6, according to a report in the Salida Mountain Mail newspaper.

The charges stem from an alleged burglary at the hardware store on Oct. 31, 2008.

The indictment alleges Fontana suggested to his employees on Oct. 30, 2008, that a large sale should be rung up and the front window of the store should be broken and a theft reported to police.

About 9:39 p.m. Oct. 31, 2008, Salida Police Officer Joshua Sweeney was dispatched to the store on U.S. 50 in response to a report of an open gate on the property. Fontana was summoned and initially didn’t notice anything missing, but he told investigators his store manager, Linda Kitson, would know.

Kitson told police merchandise was missing from a pallet, as was a riding lawn mower, according to the indictment. Later, the indictment said, Fontana used an inventory list and reported five riding lawn tractors missing. The list also included a pallet of extension cords and a pallet of bulk wire.

The grand jury alleged he filed an insurance claim for the items, reporting their value at $26,329. He eventually was paid $25,932 and deposited the money in his business account on Dec. 17, 2008.

Salida police later received information that the burglary never happened and the “stolen” riding mowers were still at the store. A warrant was served on March 2, and the five riding mowers were recovered, still on the lot, the indictment claims.

The document alleges investigators determined the pallet reportedly containing bulk wire held sale items and they had not been stolen. Push mowers allegedly stolen were also found in the store.