California Man Pleads Guilty

John Arcurio, of Fillmore, California, plead guilty June 22, to two felony counts of workers’ compensation fraud and insurance fraud. Arcurio was arrested in Kern County and transferred to the County of Ventura Superior Court on April 29, 2005 following an investigation by the Criminal Investigations Branch of the California Department of Insurance.

Arcurio was employed by the Ventura County Community College District, Moorpark College, as an Athletic Field Specialist in March 2003 when he claimed an injury to his right knee. While undergoing treatment, and collecting disability benefits while on leave from the college, Arcurio acquired another job as a landscape supervisor at Mariposa Horticultural. Arcurio reportedly never informed his claims examiner at Keenan & Associates or his doctor about his subsequent employment and lied several times about his employment when questioned by investigators. During May and July 2003, Arcurio was receiving benefits and income from his landscaping job.

Arcurio was prosecuted by the Ventura County District Attorney and was jointly investigated by the California Department of Insurance Fraud Division, and Keenan & Associates, the largest privately held insurance broker and consulting firm in the state.

Sentencing will take place on Aug. 24, 2005 in Division 12 of the Ventura County Superior Court where Arcurio could be ordered to pay full restitution, and may receive up to the maximum possible sentence of six years in prison for the two convictions.

Suspects Arrested for Alleged Roles in International Insurance Operation

Suspects have been arrested following an investigation by the CDI and the FBI into an international insurance fraud scheme that was allegedly created by a self-described religious organization.

The investigation and the arrests on July 11 were part of a joint effort by the Department’s Investigation Division and the Sacramento Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. James Sidney Kalfsbeek, of Arbuckle, California and Sherwood Theodore Rodrigues, of Petaluma, were arrested at or near their homes on federal arrest warrants. Kurt Lakota, of Galt, is still being sought in the case.

Three other defendants have been ordered to appear by summons. They are Donna Rowe, of Lodi, Laouise Renfro, of Winters, and Patricia Halless, of Petaluma.

The warrants charge the suspects with conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud, monetary transactions in criminally derived property, money laundering, and aiding and abetting. These alleged offenses were carried out via the suspects’ unauthorized insurance company, known as Puget’s Sound Agricultural Society Limited.

The firm was incorporated in British Columbia, Canada, and had offices in Carmichael, Georgetown, Garden Valley, Winters, Sunnyvale, Arbuckle and Richmond, British Columbia.

A joint investigation including the FBI, CDI, and the El Dorado County District Attorney’s Office, unearthed evidence for the warrants. Beginning in July 2000, the CDI Investigation Division started investigating PSASL, which operated primarily in the United States and Canada between the years of 1994 and 2002.

The suspects allegedly represented to their approximately 2,500 members, state regulatory agencies, and to victims that they offered a legitimate alternative to automobile insurance, and that the alternative was in compliance with the financial responsibility requirements of the states in which it was sold.

During the investigation, 11 Cease and Desist orders and four warnings were issued to the group in the United States, and one warning and one C&D were issued in two Canadian Provinces. PSASL allegedly ignored the orders and continued to operate illegally. The operation was shut down in July 2002.

Malibu Man Charged with Grand Theft

A Malibu man who owned and operated various court reporting and translation services in La Canada-Flintridge and later in Malibu was caught allegedly submitting false invoices over five years totaling nearly $210,000 in losses to insurance companies. Vahe K. Hagopian was arraigned at the Los Angeles Superior Court and faces a maximum of 16 months to three years in prison for each charge which includes 11 counts of grand theft and four counts of attempted grand theft.

The CDI Fraud Division investigated this case for over two years and according to investigators, Hagopian allegedly performed court recording and translation services for plaintiff’s attorneys at depositions. He then allegedly submitted numerous fraudulent invoices for the same deposition service directly to the claims adjusters. The invoices were not submitted to the defense attorneys, so justification for the billings was never confirmed. Hagopian owned NationWyde Court Reporting, ITW Court Services and Pacific Court Reporters and allegedly submitted fraudulent invoices to various insurers from 1999 through 2004 amounting in $209,965 in loss paid by the victims and an additional $4,673 in attempted billings.

Invoices were also allegedly submitted by Hagopian to claims adjusters when there was no service requested and no product received. He was arraigned July 13 and bail was set at $260,000. Investigators say that Hagopian allegedly billed or attempted to bill Federated Insurance, State Farm Insurance, Allstate Insurance, CNA Insurance, AAA, 21st Century Insurance, Hartford Insurance, Fireman’s Fund Insurance, Mercury Insurance, USAA, and Century National Insurance.

Bay Area Agent/Broker Pleads Guilty

A former California insurance broker/agent faces up to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty in New York to conspiracy charges related to insurance fraud. The case stems from the findings of a joint investigation by the CDI Investigation Division, and United States Postal Inspection Service.

On July 19, Richard Peterson of San Francisco pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud, engaging in the business of insurance after having been convicted of a federal felony, and using a fictitious name in a scheme to defraud. The case revolved around his fraudulent sale of $4 million worth of fake insurance policies, purportedly underwritten by Lloyd’s of London.

Peterson reportedly operated a fake insurance brokerage between 2000-2003 using the names United Restaurant Services Corporation, United Restaurant Services Cooperative, United Restaurant Insurance Services Inc. and California Restaurant Specialty Cooperative (collectively known as URSC.) With offices located primarily in San Francisco, he marketed fraudulent commercial liability policies claiming to specialize in placing commercial liability insurance for restaurants, bars and taverns throughout California.

Peterson, without authorization, reportedly issued commercial liability insurance policies purportedly placed with underwriters at Lloyd’s of London and obtained through two insurance brokerages, Surplus Lines Inc. and Heritage Inc.

In addition, in 2001, Peterson was convicted of bankruptcy fraud, a felony, in Northern California. Previously, in 1999, CDI revoked Peterson’s insurance license for running an insurance program for restaurants and bars in which he obtained insurance policies but then altered those, including fraudulently obtaining additional money from the insureds beyond what was owed for the premiums.

Peterson’s license was revoked prior to that in 1994 for soliciting the purchase of certificates of insurance through two entities he owned, AAMB Insurance Agency Inc. and Bay Area Hospitality Cooperative Inc., from an insurance company he also owned that was not authorized to transact business in California.

Peterson, who used the fictitious name “Robert James,” was first taken into custody in this current case around April 2004 in Florida. That arrest came after investigators from the CDI and USPIS agents from New York and San Francisco tried to arrest him at his San Francisco home. When he fled to Florida they notified federal authorities in Miami.

In addition to a potential prison term, Peterson faces a maximum fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss resulting from the crime for each count.

Topics California USA Fraud Agencies Canada