Truck Insurance Agent Convicted of Stealing $174k from CA Truck Drivers

A former insurance agent who pocketed at least $174,000 by selling phony policies to truck drivers will be ordered to pay restitution to her victims and spend at least six months behind bars, officials said Friday, Jan. 10.
Connie Free, 34, was convicted of 22 felonies including grand theft and forgery, representatives for the California Insurance Commissioner’s office said in a news release. She was sentenced to 180 days in jail, 180 days on work release and four years of probation.
The former insurance agent, whose insurance license was suspended in 2018 after facing charges for an unrelated crime reportedly targeted port truck drivers who lost their operator authority as a result of not having insurance. According to the release, “the investigation found Free would establish contact with her victims by soliciting them through telephone, email or a postcard offering competitive quotes with attractive rates on commercial vehicle insurance. Free would then gather the victim’s vehicle information, provide a quote for the desired coverage, and if accepted, have the victim make a cash payment directly into her bank account, so she could pay the insurance carrier to immediately establish a policy for them. Some of these drivers reportedly received forged Certificates of Insurance and Insurance Identification Cards which made them believe Free actually placed their insurance coverage.”
Then some of Free’s victims discovered that their authority to operate as a motor carrier was suspended by reviewing their own status on either the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) or Uniform Intermodal Interchange and Facilities Access Agreement (UIIA) websites. 
After receiving consumer complaints, the California Department of Insurance launched an investigation, which revealed Free, acting as “Justyce Insurance” or “Pure Justyce Insurance Agency” accepted premium payments from the drivers and spent the money on personal expenses rather than remit the payments to the insurance companies.
Free is expected to return to court on February 21, 2020, for a restitution hearing, after which she is expected to surrender and begin her sentence.
“Unfortunately this type of fraudulent activity is common in the world of Insurance,” says Brittany Smith, Director of Commercial Trucking at Insurance Unlimited. “Truckers pay high insurance premiums, therefore writing trucking insurance has been a growing trend among licensed agents. While the competitive commissions are appealing for licensed insurance agents, the high down payment and ability to fraudulently quote a company through a standard carrier makes them an easy target for theft. Thieves are using these standard carriers to come up with a competitive base premium so they can make the ‘sale’. Once they get the Truckers money they can easily print fraudulent policy information and certificates of insurance”