Deputies: Man charged with insurance fraud after faking car theft

GATES COUNTY, N.C. (WAVY) — North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey announced the arrest of 31-year-old Joseph Randolph Freeman III on March 15.

Freeman was charged with one count of insurance fraud and attempting to obtain property by false pretense. Freeman was also charged with filing a false police report.

On Sept. 22, 2023, Freeman allegedly filed a fraudulent claim with Heritage Property & Casualty Insurance Company, reporting that his vehicle had been broken into while parked in his driveway, officials said. He then manufactured and submitted false receipts for electronic and photography equipment that he claimed had been stolen from his vehicle, totaling $36,653.53, deputies said. Freeman also filed a false report to the Gates County Sheriff’s Office.

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.

“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.”

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