A North Carolina insurance agent has been charged with embezzlement and obtaining property by false pretense, the state’s Department of Insurance announced.
According to the department’s announcement on Oct. 31, criminal investigators allege that Bonnie Harrell Smith, while working as a licensed insurance agent in Wilson County in 2010, accepted $1,000 from a client, but did not remit those funds to St. Paul Insurance Company for a certificate of liability insurance. Investigators accuse Smith of keeping the money for her own personal use.
The North Carolina Department of Insurance employs 20 state law enforcement officers for investigating and prosecuting claims of insurance and bail bonding fraud. Since Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin took office in 2009, criminal investigators have made more than 1,000 arrests, resulting in more than 500 criminal convictions with more than 200 cases currently pending court. These efforts have delivered more than $61 million in restitution and recoveries for victims, according to the department.
Topics Agencies North Carolina
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