Wilson County car dealer charged with insurance fraud, NCDOI says

WILSON, N.C. (WNCN) -- North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey announced the owner of a car dealership was arrested on Wednesday with insurance fraud.

Causey said Alphonso Ray Murray, 54, of Harrells, owns Murray's Auto World in Wilson. Special agents with the Department of Insurance's Criminal Investigations Division accuse Murray of receiving $4,306.07 by submitting a letter to Allstate Insurance claiming to be the lienholder of a 2008 Jeep Patriot that was titled under the name of a person whose identity was stolen.

Agents said the letter and title paperwork were submitted after the car was involved in a crash.

According to the arrest warrant, the offenses happened between September 6, 2022 and October 24, 2022. The arrest warrant also states that Murray submitted a false signature on the car's title to the DMV.

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He was charged with insurance fraud, obtaining property by false pretense and two counts of car title application fraud, all of which are felonies.

Murray was arrested on Wednesday and was released on a $5,000 unsecured bond.

Julius Darnell Kelly, 50, and Virginia Jones Maddox, 57, both of Wilson, were also previously charged in this investigation.

You may anonymously report fraud by calling the N.C. Department of Insurance Criminal Investigations Division at 919-807-6840 or toll free from anywhere in North Carolina at 888-680-7684.