Waynesville man charged with insurance fraud
North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey today announced the arrest of Keith Brody Parks, 36, Waynesville. Parks was charged with insurance fraud and attempting to obtain property by false pretense, both felonies.
Special agents with the Department of Insurance’s Criminal Investigations Division accuse Parks of submitting a commercial insurance claim to Auto Owners Insurance Co. for a Toro Dingo compact utility loader, along with attachments, that he said had been stolen when he never owned the compact utility loader.
According to the arrest warrant, Parks submitted photographs of a Toro Dingo and attachments, which he said were his but were not. The value of the claim items was more than $100,000. The offenses occurred between Nov. 13, 2020, and March 4, 2021.
Haywood County deputies arrested Parks on May 7. He was given a $20,000 secured bond. He is due in Haywood County District Court on May 19.
“Insurance fraud hurts consumers; it costs North Carolina consumers nearly 20 cents on every dollar they pay in insurance premiums,” Causey said. “That’s why I’ve more than doubled the number of special agents to crack down on fraud and other types of white-collar crime.”
