A Union County man is facing multiple felonial charges related to insurance fraud, according to North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey. Kendry Ricardo Pujols, 47, of Matthews, was nabbed on two counts of common law forgery, two counts of obtaining property by false pretense, and one count of making a false statement on an insurance application, as per a press release by the N.C. Department of Insurance.

Officials describe how Pujols twice listed an uninvolved second party on his National General insurance policy using a forged driver’s license certificate, he also twice attempted to sell a policy back to that same individual. He is accused of trying, on a third occasion, to extract money from another victim by promising to add them to his policy. These incidents took place on May 17, June 14 and July 13. Pujols was served with a criminal summons on Tuesday last week and is due in Union County District Court on January 21, 2025.

"Forgery and insurance related crimes affect us all, and hit consumers directly in the wallet," Commissioner Causey said in a statement in the same release. Agents from the N.C. Department of Insurance’s Criminal Investigations Division are determined to crack down on insurance fraud and insurance-related identity theft statewide.

Commissioner Causey appeals to the locals – if you suspect fraudulent activity in the insurance domain or other types of white-collar crimes, come forward to report it. North Carolina residents can anonymously relay suspicions by contacting the N.C. Department of Insurance Criminal Investigations Division at 919-807-6840 or the toll-free number, 888-680-7684 allotted for the state.