Wake Forest man accused of defrauding Duke Energy of nearly $500,000 using living and dead customers :: WRAL.com
A Wake Forest man was arrested Tuesday following a fraud investigation involving Duke Energy accounts.
According to a press release, on July 22, 2025, Duke Energy representatives requested assistance from the Wake County Sheriff’s Office in a case in which numerous accounts had been opened in the names of living and deceased customers without their knowledge.
Duke Energy said the fraudulent and unreported account activity totaled approximately $495,904.62 in losses to the company.
After an extensive investigation, WCSO obtained arrest warrants for 36-year-old Rafael Williams. He was accused of:
- Four counts of obtaining property by false pretenses valued at $100,000 or more
- One count of obtaining property by false pretenses
- Five counts of financial transaction fraud
- Five counts of accessing computers
- 19 counts of identity theft
The warrants state that beginning in October 2022, Williams used computers, phones and tablets to manipulate the company’s online payment system and create false online payments. For each of the five counts of access to these devices, he is accused of having falsely paid amounts of:
- 100 $366.88
- 100 $234.73
- $100,800.38
- $100,991.20
- $93,511.43
It’s unclear whether those accounts were related to energy use at his listed home on Richland Crest Lane in Wake Forest. The Zillow listing for his home, which is on the arrest warrants, indicates the home was last sold in October 2024 for $385,000.
Williams is also accused of using more than 20 different transaction cards to access and move money between accounts to create fake payments and obtain energy from Duke Energy.
For all of these charges, authorities are holding Williams on bond totaling $2,250,000. Williams asked for a lower bond, saying he was in his final year of college.
“I miss days,” he said. I’m doing what I can to get back there.”
A judge appointed Williams as a public defender in court Wednesday. The judge issued stern warnings to Williams, saying that if he was convicted of all his charges, he would spend the rest of his life in prison.
The judge noted “this is a complicated case, with a lengthy investigation,” noting that Williams had “massive exposure.”
Speaking about the accusations, Williams said: “I don’t even own a credit card.”
The judge reminded Williams that he was not accused of possessing a credit card, he was accused of stealing other people’s identities and cards and using them to defraud Duke Energy.
Duke Energy also made a statement on Wednesday.
“We continue to support the Wake County Sheriff’s Office in [its] “The investigation into this matter is ongoing and we are contacting the owners associated with these activities to update their accounts with us,” the statement said. “We believe this issue affects a relatively small number of accounts, all of which have been identified and are being notified directly by letter.
“If, however, you are unsure of the authenticity of a call or solicitation purporting to be from Duke Energy, you should contact Duke Energy directly to confirm.”
Williams is due in court again on November 5.
Williams’ criminal history
According to the state Department of Adult Corrections’ offender portal, Williams is not new to charges related to fraudulent activity. Over the course of several months in 2017, he was charged with misdemeanors for writing worthless checks. The same year, he was also accused of obtaining property under false pretenses. He was sentenced to community service for these charges in 2020.
