The former leader of the Lenoir County (N.C.) Republican Party was charged in connection with an alleged scheme to obtain advanced insurance commissions for which he was not entitled.

North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin said Harry Leo Edwards III, 32, of Kinston, N.C., was charged with two counts of obtaining property by false pretenses.

Investigators from the North Carolina Department of Insurance say that on June, 1, 2008, Edwards, while working as an insurance agent, submitted fraudulent life insurance applications to The Chesapeake Life Insurance Co. and Transamerica Life Insurance Co. Based on those fraudulent applications, he received advance commissions in excess of $16,000, to which he was not entitled, investigators say.

Edwards voluntarily surrendered his insurance license.

Edwards was arrested in Lenoir County on Oct. 11 and placed under a $3,000 unsecured bond. He is scheduled to appear in court on Oct. 12.