Former Monroe County insurance agent Charles Cafiero was sentenced to six years in prison after pleading to charges he allegedly defrauded businesses in the Florida Keys, leaving customers without insurance months before the 1998 hurricane season. Cafiero pleaded no contest to charges of racketeering, conspiracy to commit racketeering, and four counts of organized scheme to defraud. He was also sentenced to 10 years probation and ordered to pay back $915,000 in restitution by Circuit Judge William Ptomey, Jr. Cafiero is permanently banned from selling or transacting insurance in Florida. Through his former agency Cagiero Insurance, in Key Largo, Cafiero allegedly defrauded customers, brokers and premium finance companies of more than $1 million, which he then used to buy a controlling interest in the Quay Restaurant in Key Largo. Cafiero closed his agency in 1998. Business customers found their insurance coverage cancelled, and had to rush to renew coverage just months before the start of the 1998 hurricane season that included Hurricanes Georges and Irene. The department began receiving complaints in February 1998 from business owners who suspected Cafiero had taken their premiums without providing coverage. Investigators discovered that Cafiero was allegedly operating a “Ponzi” scheme involving financing the premiums of numerous customers without their permission. In some cases, customers paid their premiums in full or entered into legitimate finance arrangements with Cafiero only to discover that he had allegedly prepared and cashed finance drafts from other finance companies without their knowledge or permission.
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