Fraud Alerts:

N.C. employee arrested
Tammy Cope of Old Fort, N.C. was arrested in McDowell County and held with an $81,000 bond on six charges of embezzlement according to Insurance Commissioner Jim Long.

Officials have alleged that Cope collected more than $10,000 in insurance premiums from 30 consumers for her own use, instead of remitting the payments to Nationwide Insurance Co.

Cope, a clerk at Nationwide Insurance’s Debbie Whitemore Agency, is not a licensed insurance agent. Investigators acted on a tip from the agency’s owner.

W. Va. agents indicted
Agent Brenda Valentine of Mountain State Insurance Agency Inc. in Montgomery, W. Va. was indicted on six felony counts of insurance fraud, and Scott Saul of Pipeline Services pled guilty to workers’ compensation forgery, according to West Virginia Insurance Commissioner, Jane L. Cline.

Valentine allegedly took money from customers for insurance policies and failed to provide them. She also allegedly forged insurance applications in an attempt to prevent discovery of the stolen premium payments. She was indicted on six felony counts.

Saul pled guilty to one felony count of forgery in attempting to verify workers’ comp coverage. He received one to 10 years in prison; but the sentence was suspended as part of his plea agreement.

Unlicensed PA arrested
Luis Gonzalez surrendered in Miami, Fla. to a detective from the Florida Division of Insurance Fraud and was charged with two counts of acting as an unlicensed public adjuster, a third degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison per offense. Gonzalez was booked into Miami-Dade County Jail on a $3,000 bond.

For a 10 percent fee, the suspect entered into agreements with two insureds with claims for mold and roof damage, and a kitchen fire and agreed to represent them as an “attorney-in-fact” dealing with the insurance companies. Gonzalez identified himself as representing the insureds in subsequent communications with Gulfstream Property and Casualty Insurance Co.