Lawndale Insurance Agent Arrested on Grand Theft Charges

Lawndale, Calif. insurance agent Daniel Rafael Carmona has been arrested and charged with one count of felony grand theft of insurance premiums, the California Department of Insurance announced. Bail was set at $20,000 and Carmona faces as many as three years in prison if convicted.

A complaint filed by a surplus line broker initiated a California Department of Insurance (CDI) investigation alleging that Carmona collected $4,583 in premium payments from victims for commercial property insurance and he failed to provide coverage or refund the premium. Carmona submitted an insurance application to a surplus lines broker on behalf of the victims and on Aug. 10, 2006, the policy was issued.

It was determined during the investigation that the policy was cancelled on Oct. 30, 2006, due to Carmona’s failure to remit the premiums to the broker. The victims were never notified their policy was cancelled and continued to make subsequent payments of $2,583 on Aug. 10, 2007, and $2,000 on Sept. 17, 2008, to Carmona. The victims made these payments based on renewal quotes they received from Carmona. Carmona failed to remit these premiums and, instead, used the funds for his personal use, thus exposing the victims to possible grave financial loss for more than two years.

Disciplinary action against Carmona’s insurance license is pending.

Source: CDI