Central Valley Woman Arrested for Bilking Unsuspecting Policyholders

A Central Valley, Calif., woman has been arrested on 33 felony counts of insurance fraud including fiduciary theft, embezzlement and grand theft for bilking unsuspecting policyholders, some of them seniors, out of their premiums, the California Department of Insurance announced. Martha Jane Terry, 63, was arrested on Dec. 13, 2010, and booked into the Stanislaus County Jail. She was later released after posting $20,000 bail. Her arraignment has been set for Feb. 2, 2011 in Stanislaus Superior Court.

According to CDI, on Jan. 12, 2011, it issued an Order of Immediate Suspension against Martha Jane Terry pursuant to Section 1748.5(e)(1) of the California Insurance Code. The criminal complaint alleges that from October 2006 to September 2010, Martha Jane Terry stole and embezzled premiums from 11 consumers while acting as a licensed broker/agent at the Hughson Insurance Agency in Hughson, Calif., just outside of Modesto. CDI Investigators said they found that Terry received payments for homeowner’s and automobile insurance, but either failed to place the insurance or did not remit the full premiums to the insurer. In some cases, she issued the clients cash receipts and gave them automobile insurance ID cards showing they were insured, only to find that there was no insurance after being involved in an accident. When one of her alleged victims was involved in an accident and discovered she had no insurance, she sued Terry and won a judgment against her for $7,500.

According to CDI investigators, Terry did not have the authority to operate under the business name of Hughson Insurance.

Source: CDI