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Six arrested in early morning raid for insurance fraud |
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| RALEIGH -- Commissioner Jim
Long and the North Carolina Department of Insurance today announced the
arrest of six Chatham and Randolph County residents suspected of
masterminding an extensive auto insurance fraud ring with possible ties
to the illegal drug trade. The arrests came as a result of an early
morning raid of the suspects' residences today, after a grand jury
returned 45 indictments in Siler City yesterday. |
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| Investigators at the Department of
Insurance worked with the Siler City Police Department, the Randolph
County Sheriff's Office, United States Postal Inspector Service and the
National Insurance Crime Bureau to shut down the alleged ring, which
may have netted suspects up to $2 million. Investigators suspect that
an estimated 480 auto crash claims since 1992 were deliberately caused
so the defendants could collect insurance payments. Also involved in
this morning's raid were the Asheboro Police Department, the Chatham
County Sheriff's Office and the Alamance County Sheriff's Office. Some
of the suspects had prior records and/or outstanding warrants for other
charges; more than 100 law enforcement officers participated in the
raid due to the dangerous nature of the operation. |
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| Those arrested include: Frankie Alston
of 131 Ellington Rd., Siler City; Gloria Alston of 1418 Spring Ave.,
Siler City; Ellen Burns of 4538 Walker Mill Rd., Sophia; Reynaldo Dimas
Colores of 401 N. Dogwood Ave., Apt. A , Siler City; Dorothy Maria
Depaz of 1809 N. Chatham Ave., Siler City; and Jose Anton Depaz of 1110
Hal Clark Rd., Siler City. |
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| Charges included obtaining property by
false pretenses, habitual felon and conspiracy to obtain property by
false pretenses. The defendants were booked at the Siler City Police
Department and are being held at the Chatham County jail. More charges
may be brought later. |
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| Department investigators allege the
fraud ring may have been part of a larger illegal drug operation.
Today's arrests are only the first in what is expected to be an ongoing
investigation. |
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| "This is one of the largest suspected
fraud ring cases we've worked in a long time," said Commissioner Long.
"Thanks to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, which alerted our
officers to some suspicious trends coming out of Chatham and Randolph
Counties, we are now able to investigate this case fully and
potentially take these individuals to trial." |
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| The Department of Insurance employs 19
sworn law enforcement officers dedicated to investigating claims of
insurance fraud. In 2004, these investigators saw 38 cases successfully
closed with $6.2 million recovered in restitution. In most of those
cases, the suspects plead guilty and went on to serve active time. |
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| Robert M. Bryant, president and chief
executive officer of the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB),
praised today's efforts. "The arrests today clearly demonstrate that
insurance fraud is not just a 'white collar' crime," he said. "Whenever
you have known drug offenders allegedly considering ways to
fraudulently obtain money, you have the potential for violence. I am
most pleased to have supported our North Carolina law enforcement
partners in this investigation." |
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| The NICB is the nation's premier
not-for-profit organization dedicated exclusively to fighting insurance
fraud and vehicle theft for the benefit of its customers and the public
through information analysis, forecasting, criminal investigation
support, training and public awareness. |
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| Major Bill Harman of the Siler City
Police Department was pleased with the level of cooperation amongst all
participating agencies. "The Siler City Police Department was happy to
be a part of today's raid with the Department of Insurance. Having an
alleged fraud ring of this nature right in our backyard - it feels good
to make these arrests today." |
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