Insurance Fraud Arrests Made After Motorcycle Found in North Carolina Pond

Two men were arrested for insurance fraud last week, according to an announcement by North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin.

Department of Insurance criminal investigators accuse Timothy Jay Styons of filing a false police report and making a fraudulent insurance claim in July 2010 that his 2009 Harley Davidson motorcycle had been stolen. Progressive Insurance Company paid Styons $12,903 for the claim.

After a joint investigation with the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles and the Martin County Sheriff’s Office, investigators allege that David Brent Long helped Styons hide the motorcycle in a Martin County pond and that the motorcycle had not been stolen. Dive teams from the Sydney Volunteer Fire Department and Wilson County Sheriff’s Office assisted in recovering a motorcycle from the pond on Sept. 14, 2014.

Styons was arrested in Pitt County on Sept. 16 and charged with one count each of felony conspiracy, filing a false report with the police, insurance fraud and obtaining property by false pretense. He was placed under a $10,000 bond and is due to appear in Martin County Court on Nov. 19.

Long was arrested with the assistance of the Greenville Police Department on Sept. 18 and charged with one felony count each of conspiracy, and aiding and abetting. He was placed under a $20,000 bond and is due to appear in Martin County Court on Dec. 10.

Source: North Carolina Department of Insurance