Former Insurance Broker Convicted of Grand Theft

Alexander Silva, of Sylmar, Calif. and formerly a licensed insurance broker, pled guilty Oct. 22, 2004, to one count of grand theft. Silva was sentenced to 30 days in Los Angeles county jail, five years probation, and ordered to pay $25,806 in restitution to his victims.

Silva was arrested July 8, 2004 by California Department of Insurance, Investigation Division (CDI) investigators. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office prosecuted the case.

An investigation conducted by CDI revealed that from March 2001 through June 2001 Silva collected at least $12,619 in insurance premiums and issued fraudulent insurance documents for personal automobile and commercial liability insurance coverage. The investigation determined that the premiums collected by Silva were never forwarded to any insurance companies.

Silva’s scam left at least five victims exposed to great liability by either driving without insurance or conducting business without the appropriate commercial insurance coverage. One of Silva’s victims experienced an uninsured automobile loss and is currently involved in litigation with another party because of that lack of coverage.