Fla. Agent Facing Felony Charge, Loss of License

A Florida insurance agent has lost his license and is facing a felony charge after more than $180,000 allegedly was stolen by his son, a former insurance agent who previously had reportedly been banned from the industry for theft of premiums.

The Department of Financial Services has issued an order revoking John Pascale’s license and permanently banning him from working in the insurance industry in Florida.

Pascale, owner of AAA Turnpike Insurance Agency, surrendered last Friday on a charge of one count of diversion or misappropriation of insurance funds, a second-degree felony. The arrest follows an investigation by the department’s Division of Agents and Agencies Services and Division of Insurance Fraud. He was booked into the Broward County Jail, with bond set at $1,500.

In July, his son Anthony Michael Pascale was arrested on charges that he reportedly stole more than $180,000 from his father’s agency, located at 1142 South Federal Highway. Investigators said that from May 2002 through April 2003, Anthony Pascale reportedly misappropriated more than 1,200 premium checks paid to his father’s insurance agency and deposited the money into a personal account.

The department had banned Anthony Pascale, 32, from the industry in February 2000 after he was reportedly convicted for stealing insurance customer’s payments. In spite of the ban, investigators said, his father reportedly allowed him to work in a back office at the insurance agency almost immediately after the conviction and ban. Investigators believe Anthony Pascale was allowed to work with approximately 40 percent of the agency’s customers.

On July 1, 2003, it became a felony for any revoked, suspended, or banned insurance agent to violate such an order.