Washington Insurance Agent Charged With Multiple Counts of Theft

Brenda MacLaren-Beattie, a longtime insurance agent in Des Moines, Wash., has been charged with first-degree theft for allegedly selling fake insurance to oral surgeons in Washington and Oregon, the Office of the Insurance Commissioner reported.

An investigation by Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler’s Special Investigations Unit found that MacLaren-Beattie, 67, sold thousands of dollars in fake business-insurance policies, often issuing counterfeit certificates of insurance to doctors and clinics.

She was arraigned in King County Superior Court. She faces 14 counts of first-degree theft, totaling $41,729 in payments from 11 clinics for non-existent coverage.

The fictitious policies were for business owners’ general liability insurance, rather than professional liability/medical malpractice. General liability insurance typically covers things like slip-and-fall accidents, employee theft, and damage to rented property, the OIC said.