Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin last month announced the arrest of Julius Broady, 52, of 3972 NC Highway 46, Gaston.

He is charged with one count each of obtaining property by false pretense and insurance fraud.

Department of Insurance criminal investigators allege that on Oct. 20, 2011, while working as the shop manager for a Roanoke Rapids car dealership, Broady submitted a fraudulent supplemental estimate to North Carolina Farm Bureau Insurance Company for repairs to a vehicle damaged in an auto accident.

Investigators allege that a portion of the supplemental estimate was for fire damage caused by a technician working on the vehicle at the repair shop, rather than for damage caused in the accident. As a result of the fraudulently inflated supplemental estimate, Farm Bureau declared the car a total loss and paid approximately $31,000 to settle the claim.

Broady was arrested on April 27 with the assistance of the Halifax County Sheriff's Office and placed under a $20,000 unsecured bond. His next scheduled court date is May 30.