BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) — A New York fisherman has pleaded not guilty to a charge alleging he tricked a Vermont nonprofit tournament into paying him more than $13,500 in prize money he didn't earn.

An attorney for 44-year-old Craig Provost of Plattsburgh, New York, entered the plea for Provost on Thursday in Burlington to a felony charge of false pretenses.

Provost participated in the Lake Champlain International Father's Day fishing tournament in June 2015. Colchester police Sgt. Michael Fish says Provost claimed he caught a record-setting walleye, and won prize money.

Police say Provost broke tournament rules because his friend actually caught the fish. Fish says the friend wasn't eligible for the tournament's top bonus payouts. But he says Provost was, so he claimed the fish and split the money with two friends.

[STORY BY: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS]

 

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