North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey today announced that Thomas Jefferson Sappelt, 33, of 500 Smith Level Road, Carrboro, was charged with obtaining property by false pretense, a felony, along with a misdemeanor count of common law forgery.
Special agents with the Department of Insurance’s Criminal Investigations Division accuse Sappelt of presenting a fraudulent certificate of liability of insurance to Resource Property Management to obtain a $8,050 roofing contract.
The offenses occurred between Aug. 20, 2021, and Jan. 19, 2022.
Special agents served a criminal summons on Sappelt on Jan. 28. He is due in Chatham County District Court on Feb. 14.
“Fraud hits consumers in the wallet,” Commissioner Causey said. “Approximately 20 cents of every insurance premium dollar go to covering the cost of fraud. I’m fighting this by aggressively pursuing and prosecuting insurance fraud in North Carolina.”
If you suspect insurance fraud or other white-collar crimes, please report it. You may anonymously report fraud by calling the N.C. Department of Insurance Criminal Investigations Division at 919-807-6840. Information is also available at www.ncdoi.gov.