Suspects Arrested for Alleged Roles in International Insurance Operation

Several suspects have been arrested following an investigation by the CDI and the FBI into an international insurance fraud scheme that was allegedly created by a self-described religious organization.

The investigation and the arrests on July 11 were part of a joint effort by the Department’s Investigation Division and the Sacramento Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. James Sidney Kalfsbeek, of Arbuckle, California and Sherwood Theodore Rodrigues, of Petaluma, were arrested at or near their homes on federal arrest warrants. Kurt Lakota, of Galt, is still being sought in the case.

Three other defendants have been ordered to appear by summons. They are Donna Rowe, of Lodi, Laouise Renfro, of Winters, and Patricia Halless, of Petaluma.

The warrants charge the suspects with conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud, monetary transactions in criminally derived property, money laundering, and aiding and abetting. These alleged offenses were carried out via the suspects’ unauthorized insurance company, known as Puget’s Sound Agricultural Society Limited.

The firm was incorporated in British Columbia, Canada, and had offices in Carmichael, Georgetown, Garden Valley, Winters, Sunnyvale, Arbuckle and Richmond, British Columbia.

A joint investigation including the FBI, CDI, and the El Dorado County District Attorney’s Office, unearthed evidence for the warrants. Beginning in July 2000, the CDI Investigation Division started investigating PSASL, which operated primarily in the United States and Canada between the years of 1994 and 2002.

The suspects allegedly represented to their approximately 2,500 members, state regulatory agencies, and to victims that they offered a legitimate alternative to automobile insurance, and that the alternative was in compliance with the financial responsibility requirements of the states in which it was sold.

During the investigation, 11 Cease and Desist orders and four warnings were issued to the group in the United States, and one warning and one C&D were issued in two Canadian Provinces. PSASL allegedly ignored the orders and continued to operate illegally. The operation was shut down in July 2002.

Topics Canada