North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey today announced the arrest of Orlando Wonson, 51, of 5419 Highway 43 North, Pinetops. Wonson was charged with insurance fraud, a felony.
In January, special agents with the Department of Insurance’s Criminal Investigations Division received a referral from Progressive Insurance regarding suspicious activity. Upon further investigation agents found that Wonson had filed two separate claims with two different insurance companies on the same vehicle for the same damage after purchasing the vehicle from an auction with the damage already present.
“Insurance 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.”
Wonson was arrested on Aug. 12 given a $10,000 secured bond.
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.