Insurance fraud always garners the headlines, but when someone associated with the industry becomes involved in illegal behavior, it makes everyone stand up and take notice.
That’s probably the last thing that 30 year-old Ashley C. Waddell wanted to have happen while she was working as a licensed public adjuster in Greensboro, N.C. But that didn’t stop her from allegedly taking advantage of her position. According to an investigation conducted by North Carolina’s Department of Insurance, she bilked one of her clients out of thousands of dollars after they had just suffered a catastrophic fire loss.
North Carolina’s Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin alleged that Waddell, who owned International Loss Services in Greensboro, took more than $89,000 in insurance claim payments from Farmers Insurance Company. The insurer had originally issued the payment to Waddell's client for damage caused by a house fire.
Waddell, however, ended up getting burned, having since been charged with felony embezzlement, obtaining property by false pretense, and writing a worthless check. She is being held in a detention center under a $40,000 secured bond, and additional charges are pending.