A Charlotte man has been arrested on a felony charge of insurance fraud for allegedly falsely claiming to an insurer that his car was hit by a deer, according to North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey.
Causey’s Department of Insurance’s Criminal Investigations Division also arrested a grandmother, mother and grandson trio, who investigators allege made numerous false claims on their rental property policy.
According to the special investigation agents, Daniel Alston Holmes told Peak Property and Casualty his car had been hit by a deer when it had actually been involved in a hit-and-run accident. According to the arrest warrants, the offense occurred on Sept. 12, 2023. According to Causey, Holmes was arrested on Jan. 30 in Gaston County and released on a $8,000 secured bond.
The arrest came shortly after a South Carolina woman was charged with claiming a deer caused damage to her vehicle. But investigators determined that a photograph she submitted pre-dated the damage claim and the insurance policy coverage date.
In the North Carolina rental policy cases, officials said Annie Stafford Wagner and Falecia Vernell Wagner, both of Winston-Salem, and Trayvon DeQuan Wagner of High Point. have been arrested.
Annie and Falecia Wagner were both charged with insurance fraud and obtaining property by false pretense.
Trayvon Wagner was charged with five counts of insurance fraud, four counts of attempting to obtain property by false pretense, two counts of aiding and abetting, one count of obtaining property by false pretense, one count of common law uttering and one count of common law forgery. All 14 charges are felonies. He was also charged with one count of misdemeanor fraud.
According to agents with the Department of Insurance’s Criminal Investigations Division, the Wagners — a grandmother, mother and grandson trio— made numerous false claims on their State Farm Insurance rental property policy, including false claims involving food spoilage, damage to a television, and equipment malfunction at their properties, some they claimed was due to storm damage. Trayvon Wagner also allegedly submitted several of these requests for damage under assumed names or identities and assisted the other two on their false claims.
According to the arrest warrants, the NC offenses occurred on Dec. 7, 2023, Dec. 20, 2023, March 21, 2024, July 23, 2024 and Aug. 24, 2024.
Causey said Annie and Falecia Wagner were served with criminal summons on Jan. 31. Officials said Trayvon Wagner was already in custody on previous charges and is being held under a $55,000 secured bond for charges in both Forsyth and Guilford counties.
Topics Claims Windstorm North Carolina
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