Insurance fraud probe nets arrests

By Joseph Pardington

  The Siler City Police Depart­ment, along with the North Caro­lina Department of Insurance and several other agencies, conducted an early morning raid on Tuesday, yielding six arrests for insur­ance fraud. The suspects are thought to be part of an extensive $2 million auto insurance fraud ring with possible drug connec­tions.

  “This ranks as one of the largest suspected fraud ring case we’ve had in a long time,” said N.C. Insurance Commissioner Jim Long.

“Thanks to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, which alerted our officers to some suspicious trends coming out of Chatham and Randolph Counties, we are now able to investigate this case fully and potentiality take these individuals to trial,” Long added.

Investigators suspected about 480 auto crashes since 1992 were deliberately staged so that the defendants could collect insur­ance payments. “When this started out, they were having ac­cidents with family members,” said Major Bill Harman, of the SCPD. “This evolved to running into innocent third-party vehicles, to collect money from their own insurance companies,” Harman said.

The accidents appeared to have been staged, said Chrissy Pear­son, with the N.C. Dept. of Insur­ance.

more- See Thursday, April 14 paper: Vol 85, No.20

Senator undecided on vote on lottery

By Randall Rigsbee

With the narrow passage by the state House last week of a bill to bring a lottery to North Carolina, the matter will next go to the Senate for its consideration.

Sen. Bob Atwater, who represents Senate District 18 comprised of Chatham, Lee and Durham counties, discussed the lottery in a telephone interview Tuesday morning and the first-term senator acknowledged the issue is a “tough matter.”

“For the longest time, I absolutely was against it,” he said. “But as I began to think about it, while I’m not pleased with it, I have leaned more towards it.”

Atwater said that for now he remains undecided.

“I’m waiting to get all the information in and hear all the arguments for and against it,” he said.

more- See Thursday, April 14 paper: Vol 85, No.20

Trustees get word on new hospital

By Milburn Gibbs

Chatham Hospital invited all of its trustees, past and present, to a dinner on April 7 to hear about the plans for a new hospital.

Chatham Hospital CEO Woody Hathaway and trustee Laura Clapp spoke to the interested parties gathered.

“Large enough to serve your needs and small enough to know your name,” described what the new hospital was designed to be, Hathaway said.

It is proposed to be a 69,000 sq. ft. one-floor facility near the US 64-US 421 intersections in Siler City.

“We have had difficulty in attracting top personnel,” Hathaway acknowledged. “The new facility will attract them.”

He explained how the old hospital had too many fatal flaws to be refurbished. When any portion of the old building is remodeled, then every part has to be brought up to complete compliance, which would be cost-prohibitive, Hathaway said.

“We have an option on a 30-acre property,” the CEO continued. “The federal and state governments have both designed Chatham Hospital as a ‘critical access’ hospital.’”

He said financing, which was not at all clear, would come from HUD 242 financing. The total cost was estimated at around $26 million. The debt service on the loans will amount to slightly less than $1 million a year over a 30-year payback, Hathaway said.

“If Siler City can grow as much as this hospital, then we will all prosper,” former trustee Mike Budd commented.

more- See Thursday, April 14 paper: Vol 85, No.20