NORTH CAROLINA COUPLE ARRESTED ON EMBEZZLEMENT AND WORKERS' COMP FRAUD CHARGES
R
ALEIGH -Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin today announced the arrests of Christopher Ingalls, 39, and Samantha Ingalls, 34, of 115 Harmony St., Winston-Salem; both were charged with two counts of embezzlement and one count each of insurance fraud, obtaining property by false pretense and conspiracy to obtain property by false pretense. Department of Insurance criminal investigators allege that the couple, while working for the same company in Wake County, conspired to defraud The Hartford Insurance Company of www.underwritersinsider.com
more than $14,000 worth of workers' compensation benefits. Investigators allege that between March 10, 2012, and Aug. 10, 2012, the couple submitted inflated salary reports for Christopher Ingalls and collected workers' compensation benefits for him while he continued drawing a regular salary. Due to evidence uncovered during the investigation of the workers' compensation case, investigators also accuse the Ingalls of embezzling nearly $33,000 from their place of employment by falsifying billable hour reports, making personal purchases
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on company credit cards and writing themselves fraudulent reimbursement checks. The couple was arrested on Oct. 28, processed at the Wake County jail, and each was placed under a $150,000 unsecured bond. The Department of Insurance employs 20 sworn state law enforcement officers dedicated to investigating and prosecuting claims of insurance and bail bonding fraud. Since Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin took office in 2009, criminal investigators have made more than 800 arrests, resulting in 430 criminal convictions thus far. 15