Moreno Valley Man Sentenced for Collecting Over $100,000 for Bogus Insurance Premiums

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A former insurance agent was sentenced to one year in custody and $100,363 in restitution payable to his victims on Friday.

According to California Department of Insurance officials, Frederick Donald Rollins, 42, of Moreno Valley, was sentenced after pleading guilty to one felony count of grand theft, two counts of securities fraud and an aggravated white-collar crime enhancement for stealing more than $100,000 in insurance premiums and investment funds from 10 victims. The investigation was launched after multiple parties called the California Department of insurance to complain about non-existent policies. One insurance carrier also called when a company attempted to file a claim for an injured employee and a business owner called when he noticed that he had no legitimate workers’ compensation or liability coverage.

Through investigation, it was learned that Rollins was working as a licensed agent at an agency when he collected several premium payments for workers’ compensation and commercial general liability coverage but never placed coverage with the insurance carriers. When Rollins left the insurance agency, he continued to sell fraudulent policies under a Nevada corporation he registered. The business was never licensed by the California Department of Insurance. Over $20,000 in payments collected from victims were used for personal expenses and were never used to obtain or maintain insurance coverage. A false Certificate of Insurance with the names of actual insurance carriers was issued to the victims.

In addition to collecting premium payments, Rollins also acted as though he was a registered stockbroker, accepting nearly $80,000 in funds for investments from several victims who thought their money was being invested in stocks. “The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, a non-governmental organization that regulates stockbrokers and brokerage firms, verified that Rollins has never been licensed in any capacity to act as a stockbroker,” CDI officials said.

Rollins license expired in March 2014 and was not renewed at that time. The Department of Insurance is taking appropriate administrative action against Rollins’ license. “Many people make the mistake of thinking insurance fraud is a victimless white-collar crime,” said Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones. “This agent left his clients at great financial risk when he failed to secure their policies, leaving them without the coverage they paid for.”