Reseda Broker Pleads Guilty to Forgery

The California Department of Insurance Investigations Division announced that insurance broker Sajjad Hussain Shaikh, 36, also known as Adam Shaikh, of Reseda, California has pled guilty to one count of forgery. Shaikh was sentenced to three years of Summary Probation and ordered to pay a $1410 fine on May 24, 2005. Shaikh conducted business as Outstanding Services Insurance Agency, and previously used the name Year 2000 Insurance Services for insurance sales.

According to investigators, on March 24, 2004, the Department of Insurance received a complaint from United States Liability Insurance Group, alleging that someone had forged a United States Liability Insurance Company Errors and Omissions Declarations page. The forged declarations page listed Year 2000 Insurance Services as the insured. Errors and Omissions insurance provides coverage if an agent makes a professional error or mistake when placing insurance for a client.

“Errors and Omissions insurance is vital to ensuring that when honest mistakes occur, that the agent’s client isn’t left holding the bag,” said Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi. “Mr. Shaikh placed his clients in considerable risk by forging this insurance for his own business.”

Had Shaikh’s clients submitted claims from flawed policies, they would have little recourse to have their policies enforced. As a result of this investigation, it was determined that Shaikh had forged four United States Liability Insurance Company Errors and Omissions declarations pages for his own insurance business. The forged declarations pages covered the period from 4/25/99 through 4/25/03. Shaikh submitted these forged declarations pages to Western United Insurance Company, Infinity Select Insurance Company, Arrowhead General Insurance Agency Inc., Carnegie General Insurance Agency Inc., and Robert Moreno Insurance Services, in order to obtain brokerage agreements to do business with these companies.