When a big property owner in Naples, Florida, recently tried to refinance some loans, the owner was surprised to discover that 31 properties had no insurance – despite having paid thousands of dollars in premiums.
Late last month, investigators with the Florida Department of Financial Services provided some answers when they announced the arrest of Veronica Skopp, a long-time insurance agent based in Pompano Beach. The woman, a licensed agent for almost 30 years, was charged with fraud and forgery on Oct. 25, and was booked into the Broward County jail, the DFS said in a statement.
Skopp reportedly had the property owner wire $41,418 in premium money to her business bank account but she used the money for personal expenses and issued a fake certificate of insurance, Florida’s chief financial officer said. After meeting with DFS detectives, Skopp confessed to misappropriating the premiums from the victim and from additional consumers, and to providing fraudulent documents, authorities said.
“Insurance fraud is a costly crime that’s especially heinous when committed by a trusted financial advisor,” CFO Jimmy Patronis said. “In this case, the victim was unknowingly left hanging with no insurance coverage, which opened them up to untold liability at no fault of their own.”
Skopp’s Linkedin page notes that she has owned a We Insure franchise since 2014. If convicted of the charges, she could face up to 20 years in prison. Her license has been suspended, DFS said. A complaint about the agency has been posted on the Better Business Bureau’s website.
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