Woman charged with faking car accident

NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — A New Hanover County woman is heading to prison after admitting to charges tied to what prosecutors say was a fake traffic accident.

Teresa Pollock pleaded guilty to Felony Insurance Fraud, Attempt to Obtain Property by False Pretenses, and Conspiracy to Obtain Property by False Pretenses, according to the district attorney’s office. Pollock is sentenced to 22-46 months imprisonment. The district attorney’s office said the incident involved Pollock and four other women who conspired to purposefully crash a rented U-Haul van and a car owned by one of the other women involved.

According to a release, Pollock asked the other women to participate in a staged car accident and two hours after renting the U-Haul van, the crash occurred around the Long Leaf Park area. Pollock claimed bodily injury, first against the insurance carrier for U-Haul, then against the insurance carrier for the other car involved, and in both instances claimed not to know who was in the U-Haul van that she helped to rent some hours earlier.

Further investigation by the Department of Insurance revealed that all five women had been in communication with each other by phone in the hours before the car accident, negating their claims that they were unknown to one another.

Charges against the other three women are currently pending.