Topics Related to Fraud Control/Investigations

North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey today announced the arrest of Maxine Bracey Smith, 51, of 322 Mill Quarter Road, Hallsboro. Smith was charged with insurance fraud and attempting to obtain property by false pretense, both felonies.

Special Agents with the Department of Insurance’s Criminal Investigations Division accuse Smith of trying to receive payment from an auto insurance claim with Peak Property and Casualty Insurance Co. by falsely stating that damage occurred to her 2017 Hyundai Sonata when the car hit a deer on Sept. 23.

North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey today announced that Rose Geathers Edwards, 54, of 1220 Echo Glen Road, Charlotte, was charged with insurance fraud.

Edwards is accused of filing a claim for a client through her company, Public Adjusters of the Carolinas, which was not licensed as a public adjuster company in North Carolina. The offense occurred between Aug. 8 and Aug. 28.

North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey today announced the arrest of Nicholas McFarland, 25, of 3890 Old Vineyard Road Apartment 40-A, Winston-Salem. McFarland was charged with felony insurance fraud.

According to the arrest warrant, McFarland filed an auto policy claim on Aug. 31, 2017, for damages to a 2005 Mustang with Geico knowing that he had previously filed damages for the vehicle with National General Insurance Co. on May 12, 2017.

North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey today announced the arrest of Djuan Colby Mitchell, 29, of 200 Seven Oaks Road Apartment 19-C, Durham. Mitchell was charged with felony insurance fraud and felony obtaining property by false pretense.

According to the arrest warrant, Mitchell is accused of falsely obtaining $1,270 by submitting duplicate auto insurance claims to both Progressive Insurance and The General Insurance Company. The offenses occurred between March 29, 2018, and June 25, 2018.

North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey today announced the arrest of William Robert Justice, 58, of 2204 Chestnut St. Extension, High Point. Justice was charged with felony insurance fraud and felony obtaining property by false pretense.

Special agents with the Department of Insurance’s Criminal Investigations Division accuse Justice of selling false driver’s liability insurance forms to five different people. The five needed to produce proof of liability insurance to receive a North Carolina driver’s license, according to the arrest warrant.

North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey today announced the arrest of Estonia Lace Howerton, 34, of 19 Pathway Lane, Candler. Howerton is charged with felony obtaining property by false pretense, three misdemeanor counts of unlawful use of power of attorney, and one misdemeanor count of failing to file an affidavit for a bond.

North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey today announced the arrest of Brandon Goforth, 35, of 380 School Drive, Hayesville. Goforth was charged with felony second-degree arson, felony insurance fraud, and misdemeanor injury to real property.

According to arrest warrants, Goforth burned his single-wide modular home where he lived and attempted to collect on a renter’s insurance claim by telling Homesite Insurance he did not know the cause of the fire.

The offenses occurred between Dec. 10-12, 2018.

North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey today announced the arrest of Margarita Alejo, 38, of 2500 Carver St., Durham. Alejo is charged with insurance fraud, obtaining property by false pretense, and embezzlement, all felonies.

North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey today announced the arrest of Deshawn Alfonso Sellars, 32, of 7303 Friendship Church Road, Browns Summit. Sellars was charged with two felony counts of insurance fraud.

According to the arrest warrant, Sellars filed auto insurance claims for damages that had previously been paid by two insurance companies. The offenses occurred between Sept. 15, 2018, and Jan. 3, 2019.

North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey today announced the arrest of Kristie Baldwin Fuller, 49, of 230 Webster Road, Greensboro. Fuller was charged with felony obtaining property by false pretense and a misdemeanor charge of being a bail bondsman without a license.

Special Agents with the Department of Insurance's Criminal Investigations Division accuse Fuller telling a victim that she could bond out the victim's boyfriend from jail for money. Fuller accepted the money but failed to bond the man out of jail, according to the arrest warrant.