Calif. Agent Arrested for Insurance Fraud

Hanford, Calif., resident and insurance agent Robert Ramos, 44, has been arrested by for one felony count of grand theft and three felony counts of forgery, the California Department of Insurance announced. If convicted on all charges, Ramos faces a maximum of six years in state prison.

According to CDI, from 2002 until November 2009, Ramos was employed as a licensed insurance agent for Pacific AG Insurance Services. In 2005 Ramos was promoted to office manager of Pacific AG’s three office locations in Hanford, Corcoran, and Chowchilla, Calif. Ramos was in charge of reconciling and making deposits in company accounts. During 2005, Ramos began to steal cash premium payments from walk in customers in Corcoran who were paying for their personal lines auto and homeowner’s insurance. Ramos diverted many of these cash premium payments into his own personal stream of income, CDI said.

Ramos also diverted commercial premium payments intended for the Pacific AG Trust Account, CDI said. He also intercepted commission checks and broker fees intended for deposit into the company’s Operating Account. Ramos used a variety of fraudulent methods to conceal his theft of cash premium payments. It is alleged that Ramos stole no less than $96,000.00 from Pacific AG clients and Pacific AG over a four-year period until the theft was discovered and he was fired in November of 2009.

In 2010, The Investigation Division, Criminal Operations – Point of Sale Unit (C.O.P.S.) investigated and contacted Ramos regarding the allegations of theft. The matter was then referred to the Kings County District Attorney’s Office, which is prosecuting the case. Ramos surrendered his insurance license to COPS Investigators when contacted about the theft.

Source: CDI