A North Carolina insurance agent is out on bond, awaiting court action, after he was charged with diverting premium payments from four automobile dealerships.
Jeffrey Martin Webster, of Jamestown, North Carolina, was charged with 18 counts, including forgery and embezzlement by an insurance producer, after investigators with the state Department of Insurance examined evidence from 2024 and 2025, the DOI said in a bulletin.
“The defendant did as an insurance agent accept premium payment from R&M Automotive Ventures LLC and agree in exchange to bind insurance coverage for R&M Automotive Ventures LLC and instead, did not bind coverage and did keep R&M Automotive Ventures, LLC’s money and embezzle or convert the money to his own use,” reads one arrest warrant, filed in Randolph County District Court by a DOI investigator.
Webster provided forged certificates of insurance to the clients but never secured policies, authorities said.
Webster is owner of Webster Insurance Agency in Archdale, near Greensboro. National Association of Insurance Commissioners records show that he holds an active producer’s license and is appointed with multiple property-casualty, life and health insurance carriers. He was initially licensed in the 1990s.
In a statement posted on his agency’s website, Webster said the certificates were incorrect, but the discrepancy was not intentional.
“The one thing I want to clearly communicate to everyone is there is no evidence that I profited from the certificates that were issued incorrectly,” the statement reads. “My business remains open and my insurance license remains in effect.”
In recent months, the NCDOI conducted an audit of the agency and discovered a discrepancy with the certificates of insurance for the auto dealerships. Webster said he was never given a chance to explain. He was arrested Feb. 27 and the DOI told him that if he surrendered his license, the investigation would end, Webster said in the online statement.
“When I told the investigator I needed to speak with my attorney, I was taken from the meeting and transported to the Randolph County Sheriff’s Department where I was held until released on bail,” he wrote.
“I hope those of you who know me will understand that I’d never illegally take any money from clients and that judgement will pause until I have been arraigned and tried in court. Until that time, I plan to continue doing what I do, helping people with their insurance needs.”
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