Durham woman charged with filing fake burglary insurance claims, police report, state officials say

DURHAM, N.C. (WNCN) — A Durham woman was arrested on March 20 and charged with filing a false police report and claiming more than $9,000 from renter's insurance, according to North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey.

Causey said Tieara Brewer, 28, filed a false police report claiming she was the victim of two separate burglaries.

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Brewer filed two separate burglary reports with Durham police, claiming that someone broke into her apartment and stole several items, according to special agents with the department's Criminal Investigations Division.

On the first reported theft, on Dec. 11, 2021, Causey said Brewer filed a renters' insurance claim with Liberty Mutual Insurance and received $9,320.77.

The other burglary report with police on Sept. 27, 2022, stated that someone broke into her apartment again and stole multiple items.

Causey said Brewer submitted a renters' insurance claim to her new provider, Assurant Insurance, and submitted the same pictures and items that she submitted in the first claim. She attempted to get paid $9,471 in this claim, but was denied after the first claim was discovered.

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Brewer was charged with two counts of insurance fraud, one count of obtaining property by false pretense, and one count of attempting to obtain property by false pretense.

"Insurance fraud hits consumers in the wallet," Causey said. "Approximately 20 cents of every insurance premium dollar go to covering the cost of fraud. I'm fighting this by aggressively pursuing and prosecuting insurance fraud in North Carolina."

If you suspect insurance fraud or other white-collar crimes, please report it. You may anonymously report fraud by calling the N.C. Department of Insurance Criminal Investigations Division at 919-807-6840.