Pinon Hills Man Arrested For Stealing $58,000 in Insurance Premiums

LOS ANGELES – A Pinon Hills man who was a former Los Angeles-area insurance broker was convicted of stealing insurance premiums, officials said.

Martin McCloskey, 69, pleaded guilty to the three felony counts which include grand theft and theft of fiduciary funds after defrauding his customers. McCloskey was convicted of failing to remit over $58,000 in premiums collected for commercial property and liability coverage to insurance companies.

“McCloskey violated his clients’ trust and left them at great financial risk when he stole their premiums and left them without coverage,” said Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones. “My enforcement team will continue aggressively pursuing agents and brokers who break the law.”

The theft was uncovered when the Department of Insurance received a complaint which sparked the investigation. The investigation division discovered the magnitude of the theft committed by McCloskey, who was a licensed broker. Through investigation, it was learned that he failed to remit the entire premium which he received to the companies from October 1, 2009, through December 31, 2011.

McCloskey’s license was revoked on December 6, 2012 as a result of the investigation and the insurance companies extended coverage to the policyholders affected by the shortage in premiums. McCloskey is scheduled to be sentenced on December 1, 2016.

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