Unlicensed agent defrauds Florida seniors

A Florida life agent has been convicted for defrauding Tampa seniors out of nearly $490,000 in life insurance premiums. The agent, who was never licensed in Florida as an insurance agent, was sentenced to 34 months in prison followed by 25 years’ probation. He was also ordered to pay full restitution to the victims. According to the Florida Department of Financial Services, the agent received 15 premium payments totaling $489,426 from two senior citizens he met after making presentations at a Tampa-area church. He offered them a profit and the return of their principal through the sale of life insurance policies in their names that he was to sell as part of a Stranger-Originated Life Insurance (STOLI) transaction. However, the two seniors’ premium payments were never sent to an insurance company, but instead deposited into an account for the agent’s personal use.

Writing and submitting phony long-term care (LTC) insurance applications has landed a California life insurance agent a one-year term in county jail. He also must pay $70,000 in restitution and $2,000 in fines and penalties. According to authorities, the agent entered false identities, addresses and income information on LTC applications, then submitted the forms to an insurance company. He also impersonated the insurance applicants when the insurer called to conduct underwriting interviews. After submitting the phony applications, the agent received more than $82,000 in unearned commissions.