SLED charges Sumter man in ongoing multi-county insurance fraud investigation

South Carolina Law Enforcement Division has charged a Sumter County man in connection with an ongoing multi-county insurance fraud investigation. 

Lonie Johnson Jr., 35, was charged on Wednesday, Oct. 28, with two counts of forgery valued at less than $10,000 and two counts of presenting a false claim for insurance payment. 

According to SLED, the insurance fraud charges included two claims, one a claim valued at $10,000 or more and another involving a claim valued over $2,000 but under $10,000. 

According to the warrants, Johnson submitted two false physician statements to Aflac in connection to an ATV accident claim. The statements were reportedly submitted in May and July of 2025 and were attributed to Midlands Orthopaedics and Neurosurgery. 

Investigators said the medical facility confirmed Johnson had not been seen on the dates listed in the statements and concluded that the physician’s signatures were forged. 

Johnson was booked into the Clarendon County Detention Center. South Carolina Department of Insurance will prosecute the case. 

SLED previously charged six other individuals in connection with the ongoing investigation, five individuals on Wednesday, Oct. 14, and another on Tuesday, Oct. 27.