Ore. Man Must Stop Selling Insurance
Oregon's Department of Consumer and Business Services (DCBS) has issued a cease and desist order against a Salem man who reportedly continued to transact insurance even after his license was revoked.
An investigation by the DCBS Insurance Division found that Grant H. Gilbertson allegedly accepted premiums for a nonexistent auto insurance policy as recently as June 2004, even though his license was revoked and he was fined $5,000 last October for several violations of the Oregon Insurance Code, including reportedly illegally withholding premiums from insurers and making misrepresentations to a policyholder and an insurer. The Insurance Division fined Gilbertson $41,000 in May 2004 for soliciting 41 applications for auto insurance through the Oregon Assigned Risk Plan.
The Insurance Division reportedly found that many of his victims did not speak English or had limited English skills.
Gilbertson has appealed his license revocation and $5,000 fine to the Oregon Court of Appeals, where the case is pending. He didn't appeal the $41,000 fine but reportedly hasn't paid it. His license remains revoked.
Gilbertson was licensed as an Oregon resident insurance agent from Aug. 3, 1990, to Oct. 12, 2003. His last recorded business address was Gilbertson Insurance, 1815 Center St. NE, in Salem.
Three Arrests in California Fraud Case
An investigation has resulted in three arrests on felony insurance fraud charges.
The case, stemming from an investigation by the Santa Clara County Urban Auto Task Force--investigators from the California Department of Insurance, Fraud Division (CDI) and the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office--revolve around alleged bogus chiropractic billings for treatment that, in many cases, was never delivered.
Two brothers, Tom Hyungkeun Sim, of Santa Clara and Christopher Hyungkeun Sim, of Cupertino, were arrested and charged with insurance fraud after a two-year investigation. They operated as chiropractors from St. Thomas Clinic in Santa Clara.
Jung Law Firm attorney Hume Joseph Jung, of El Cerrito, was also arrested and charged with insurance fraud. Jung's office manager, James Kisik Son, of Fremont, was charged with insurance fraud and capping--paying for clients/patients, grand theft and forgery.
The case began in 2003. An undercover officer called the Jung Law Firm and met with James Son, the office manager, regarding a supposed auto accident. The undercover officer told Son he was not injured in the auto accident, but that his vehicle was extensively damaged. Nevertheless, Jung continued to pursue the personal injury claim, and California Casualty Insurance paid $8,350 to settle it.
Son also reportedly offered to compensate the undercover officer if he referred future clients to Jung Law Firm. Son then referred the undercover officer to the St. Thomas Clinic for treatment, where the undercover officer told the chiropractors, brothers Tom and Christopher Sim, that he was not injured. Regardless, the Sim brothers continued to treat the undercover officer for the supposed injury and told the undercover officer he could make some money from the claim.
The undercover officer was allegedly treated 22 times for a total of $2,850 in chiropractic bills.
