RALEIGH — Carla King of Norwood was sworn in on Friday as a special agent for the N.C. Department of Insurance. Commissioner Mike Causey was on hand for the ceremony, which took place at the N.C. Supreme Court where Justice Paul Newby delivered the oath of office to King.
King had been the chief deputy of the Stanly County Sheriff’s Office since 2014 and has been a sworn law enforcement officer since 1994. King is a graduate of North Stanly High School and King’s College in Charlotte.
Special Agents work to investigate insurance fraud as part of the N.C. Department of Insurance. Commissioner Mike Causey has more than doubled the size of the criminal investigations division since he took office in 2016.
According to the department, N.C. receives between 400 and 500 criminal insurance fraud complaints each month. In 2017, the department arrested 334 people for insurance-related violations — an increase of more than 60 percvent over the prior year. Those arrests resulted in the recovery of approximately $14.1 million.
“Fighting insurance fraud is a top priority of my administration,” said Causey. “Fraud not only hurts insurance companies, but hurts consumers as well, costing consumers 15 and 20 cents of every insurance premium dollar.”
Citing concerns with insurance fraud, the N.C. General Assembly appropriated $2.4 million in the 2017-19 budget to hire additional agents in the Department’s criminal investigations division.
King will be one of eight agents operating in District 2 and will keep her home in Stanly County. District 2 encompasses 24 counties, including Stanly. There are four districts in the state.
“I’m glad that Carla King will bring her experience as a Chief Deputy Sheriff to the department in our efforts to combat insurance fraud. We’re fortunate to have Carla with us now as a Special Agent,” said Causey.
“I have always been interested in the Department of Insurance. Out of over 350 applicants, I was fortunate enough to be chosen,” said King. “I am excited to be back in the investigations field. I have missed being a detective.”
King will join a division that has already made 265 arrests, obtained 126 convictions, and recovered approximately $600,000 so far this year.
“It was a pleasure to serve the citizens of Stanly County, and I look forward to continuing to serve them and the rest of North Carolina in my new role,” said King.
King has spent most of her career at the Stanly County Sheriff’s Office with a short stint at the Mint Hill Police Department from 2011 to 2014. Stanly County Sheriff George T. Burris says that King will be missed within his department.
“Chief King served the citizens of Stanly County with professionalism and dedication,” said Burris. “As the first-ever female Chief Deputy, she met the challenge and excelled in her role. Carla was ready for a new challenge and I am very proud of her and wish her the very best. The next chief has big shoes to fill.”
