Ginger Lynn Cunningham, Selling Fake Title Insurance Policies, North Carolina 2023

A Brevard woman was sentenced to prison for selling fake title insurance policies in a scheme that brought in hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Ginger Lynn Cunningham, 39, was sentenced to 14 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Martin Reidinger on March 21, 2023, for selling fake title insurance policies, announced Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.

Cunningham was also ordered to serve three years under court supervision and to pay $412,344 as restitution.

According to information contained in filed court documents and presented in court during Cunningham’s sentencing hearing, Cunningham owned and operated Blue Ridge Title Company, an independent title insurance agency located in Buncombe County.

Beginning in February 2015, Cunningham became an authorized independent agent for Commonwealth Land Title Insurance Company (Commonwealth). As an authorized agent, Cunningham’s title agency sold title insurance policies underwritten by Commonwealth and collected premium payments during real estate closings.

Under the agreement with Commonwealth, Cunningham’s Blue Ridge Title Company would keep 80% of the premium payments, and the remaining 20% would be sent to Commonwealth. On or about March 21, 2016, Commonwealth terminated their agreement with Blue Ridge Title Company, because Cunningham failed to submit premium payments as required to Commonwealth.

At the time of termination, Blue Ridge Title Company owed Commonwealth in excess of $25,000 in premium payments.

Cunningham pleaded guilty to wire fraud on October 28, 2019.

Ginger Lynn Cunningham is a resident of Brevard, North Carolina and Hendersonville, North Carolina. The criminal charge is wire fraud. The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Office of Inspector General, and the North Carolina Department of Insurance.

Assistant United States Attorney Don Gast, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Asheville, prosecuted the case for the United States.

The total amount of restitution is $412,344.

The prison sentence is 14 months.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdnc/pr/brevard-nc-woman-sentenced-prison-selling-fake-title-insurance-policies