Topics Related to NCDOI

RALEIGH — North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey today announced the arrest of Cedric Dwayne Morrow, 40, of 2219 Gooseberry Road, Charlotte. Morrow was charged with insurance fraud and attempting to obtain property by false pretense.

Special Agents with the Department of Insurance’s Criminal Investigations Division accuse Morrow of falsely telling Repwest Insurance Co. investigators that he had not had any previous accidents with his 2014 Chevy Sonic before a Sept. 20, 2017, collision, and that he did not know the person in the other vehicle.

North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey today announced that Darren Lewis Wolfe, 54, of 11223 Gold Pan Road, Charlotte, was charged with obtaining property by false pretense and three counts of common law uttering (passing forged documents), all felonies.

Special Agents with the Department of Insurance’s Criminal Investigations Division accuse Wolfe of providing fraudulent certificates of liability insurance to obtain $20,125 for his business, Allwood Tree Service.

The offenses occurred between June 1, 2017, and July 11, 2019.

North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey today announced the arrest of Billie Jo Kennedy, 47, of 1800 Chinquapin Chapel Road, Trenton. Kennedy was charged with one felony count of embezzlement by an insurance agent.

Kennedy is accused of embezzling approximately $18,209.20 in customer policy premiums and converting the money to her own use. According to the arrest warrant, the offense occurred in Lenoir County between Dec. 6, 2015, and Dec. 6, 2017. Kennedy was an insurance agent licensed by the N.C. Department of Insurance at the time of the offense.

North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey today announced the arrest of Malaysia Harris, 25, of 433 Graham St., Albemarle. Harris was charged with one felony count of insurance fraud and one felony count of attempting to obtain property by false pretense.

Harris is accused of making false statements to Farmers Insurance Company in support of a claim for payment on a renter’s insurance policy. She is also accused of altering documents in support of the claim.

North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey today announced the arrest of Lakeisha Tramonda Hoskins, 36, of 2422 Meaderoft Road, Charlotte. Hoskins was charged with insurance fraud.

North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey today announced the arrest of Jeremiah Randall Whitt, 37, of 1316 N.C. Highway 57 North, Milton. Whitt was charged with insurance fraud and obtaining property by false pretense.

Whitt is accused of providing false and misleading information to Auto Owners Insurance Company. He said that he had purchased goods to replace stolen items, when he had not purchased them. He is also accused of materially altering cost replacement estimates in an attempt to make them look like receipts.

North Carolina Department of Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey warns Medicare recipients to be on alert for scams. Beginning in April 2018 and running through April 2019, old Medicare cards will be replaced with ones that no longer show Social Security numbers. Instead, cards will have a Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI) that will be used for billing and to check eligibility and claim status.

North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey announced today the arrest of 55-year-old Hamilton Mutriss Brown of 7201 Winter Pond Way, Fuquay Varina. He is charged with one count of Obtaining Property by False Pretenses.

Department of Insurance criminal investigators charged Brown for the activities that occurred in Harnett County between Dec.17, 2015 and Feb. 12, 2018.

Brown is accused of unlawfully obtaining approximately $40,395 from the Harnett County School System by providing altered insurance certificates to obtain a contract for services.

The North Carolina Department of Insurance received a Dwelling insurance rate filing from the N.C. Rate Bureau on Wednesday, Feb. 7. The N.C. Rate Bureau, which is not part of the Department of Insurance, represents all companies writing property insurance in the state. The Rate Bureau requested a statewide average rate increase of 18.9 percent, varying by territory, with a requested effective date of Oct. 1, 2018.

North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey announced that a charge of solicitation to obtain property by false pretenses was filed against an Ahoskie woman.

Heaven Symone Lassiter, 23, of 1521 U.S. 13 South, Ahoskie, is accused of providing false information to Progressive Insurance Co. to obtain payment for a claim. According to a criminal summons served on Lassiter Jan. 25, she tried to file a claim for damage to her 2012 Ford Focus that occurred before she obtained her policy.