NEWTON — Catawba County Superior Court calendars list James Mark Hinson for a 9:30 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026, appearance in Courtroom 9 at the Catawba County Justice Center on a string of 2023 felony cases alleging fraud, common-law forgery, and accessing government computers to defraud.
The cases on the official calendar are 23CR002520-170 through 23CR002531-170. The complainant is listed as Coble, J., with the agency field shown as “OTH LEGACY AGENCY.” Defense counsel is listed as Lisa A. Dubs. The calendar does not name a judge or list a disposition for these entries.
Charge labels on the calendar include fraud, common-law forgery, and accessing government computers to defraud. Several entries carry a fingerprinting note. The calendar does not describe any dollar amount or the underlying incident reports.
In September 2023, Conover officials identified Hinson as the city’s former fire chief and said the North Carolina Department of Insurance had charged him in connection with alleged false information on fire incident reports, according to a city statement reported at the time. Those older news accounts are not the court calendar and are offered only to identify who Hinson is. Catawba First News has not reviewed sealed filings or paid court documents for this draft.
The charges are accusations. Hinson is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
Catawba Superior Court Dates Calendar for Sept. 24, 2026, 9:30 a.m., Courtroom 9 (cases 23CR002520-170–23CR002531-170), via the North Carolina Judicial Branch criminal calendar portal (calendars.nccourts.org), reviewed Sept. 24, 2026. Context on Hinson’s former Conover Fire Department role: City of Conover statement as reported by Queen City News, Sept. 19–20, 2023.
