A Chatham County man was charged with insurance fraud and attempting to obtain property by false pretense on Wednesday, both of which are felonies. Jonathan Bowers, 47, of Chapel Hill allegedly attempted to receive $2,300 from USAA by listing a ring he had previously pawned among valuable personal property items he said were stolen. The offense occurred on March 17 of this year.

“Property and casualty insurance fraud costs insurance customers an estimated $120 billion a year in increased premiums,” said North Carolina insurance commissioner Mike Causey. “The Department of Insurance has beefed up its fraud-fighting staff in an effort to make more arrests to keep fraud from driving up insurance costs.”

Following his arrest, Bowers was released on a written promise to appear in court.

The Department of Insurance urges anyone who suspects insurance fraud or other white-collar crimes to report it. Anonymous tips can be reported to the department’s Criminal Investigations Division at 919-807-6840.

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