Three insurance agency employees have been arrested in Florida for allegedly stealing thousands of dollars in auto premiums.
Bella Jenkins, Torrance Blake and David Bell, who were employees of the Temple Terrace-based Insurance Plus, were charged with committing insurance fraud and selling insurance without a license, according to Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater.
The state’s Division of Insurance Fraud said it began its investigation of Insurance Plus in August 2010 after receiving complaints that customers were given automobile insurance coverage quotes by phone only to have the price for the coverage inflated by the time of the purchase. Officials said customers paid the additional money and left the agency believing that they had insurance coverage with either Kingsway Amigo or Security National Insurance.
The customers later learned they had no coverage when pulled over for traffic violations or by receiving notices from the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles advising them they needed to purchase coverage in order to comply with the law. The victims stated that the owner of the business, Bella Jenkins, a licensed insurance agent, was not present when they went to Insurance Plus, but that Ball and Blake both conducted business despite having no license, officials said.
If convicted, each of the suspects face up to five years in prison per charge.
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