Two North Carolina Insurance Agents Charged with Fraud

Two North Carolina insurance agents have been accused of submitting false insurance claims to collect more than $30,000, authorities said.

The N.C. Department of Insurance said in a news release that Christian LaFabian Ratliff, 34, of Rockingham, was charged with insurance fraud and obtaining property by false pretense, both felonies. Ratliff also was charged with two misdemeanor counts of making false statements in an application for insurance.

The department said Jamel Dante Buie, 43, of Hamlet, is facing similar charges.

Special agents with the Department of Insurance’s Criminal Investigations Division accuse Ratliff of obtaining $29,528 in commissions by submitting life insurance applications containing false information to two insurance companies.

Special agents with the department accused Buie of obtaining $4,758 in commissions by submitting false applications between November 2020 and August 2021. The department said Ratliff’s offenses occurred between October 2020 and August 2021.

Ratliff and Buie were scheduled to appear in Richmond County District Court this week.