Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

RALEIGH – North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey announced March 15 the arrest of Joseph Randolph Freeman III, 31, of Ruby Lane, Corapeake.

Freeman was charged with one count of insurance fraud and attempting to obtain property by false pretense, both felonies.

The Gates County Sheriff’s office also charged Freeman with filing a false police report, a misdemeanor.

According to special agents with the NC Department of Insurance’s Criminal Investigations Division and Investigators with the Gates County Sheriff’s Office, Freeman filed a fraudulent claim with Heritage Property & Casualty Insurance Company, reporting that his vehicle had been broken into while parked in his driveway. He then allegedly manufactured and submitted false receipts for electronic and photography equipment that he claimed had been stolen from his vehicle, totaling $36,653.53.

To further substantiate the fraudulent insurance claim, Freeman filed a false report to the Gates County Sheriff’s Office.

According to the arrest warrant, the offenses occurred on Sept. 22, 2023.

Freeman was released from custody by Gates County officials under a $10,000 secured bond, with an order to appear in district court on March 18.

The NC Department of Insurance’s Criminal Investigations Division is grateful for the assistance and cooperation of the Gates County Sheriff’s Office and the First Prosecutorial District Attorney’s Office in carrying out this investigation.

“Insurance fraud hits consumers in the wallet,” Commissioner Causey said. “Approximately 20 cents of every insurance premium dollar goes 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 or toll free from anywhere in North Carolina at 888-680-7684.