A joint investigation conducted by the California Department of Insurance (CDI) Criminal Investigations Branch’s Investigations Bureau and the Orange County District Attorney’s Office has led to the arrest of two insurance agents for allegedly selling fraudulent automobile policies.
Search warrants were served at several locations in the West Covina and Bakersfield areas in conjunction with this investigation.
Manuel Mendez, 35, and Jeffrey Ferguson, 36, of Least Cost Insurance Services, were arrested and booked on 25 felony counts of conspiracy, insurance fraud and grand theft. Bail was set at $500,000 each. If convicted, each could face up to 18 years and four months in state prison and/or a fine up to $50,000.
Mendez and Ferguson originally worked as partners at Least Cost Insurance Services in Anaheim.
They later relocated their business to Covina and continued in the alleged sale of bogus insurance policies. According to CDI Investigators, Mendez and Ferguson allegedly sold over 600 fraudulent insurance policies to unsuspecting consumers, primarily in the Hispanic community.
Investigators have so far documented that Mendez and Ferguson have collected at least $23,000 of insurance premium from 45 victims. Investigators say Mendez and Ferguson collected premiums and never submitted them to insurance carriers.
Their alleged illegal activities left hundreds of victims unknowingly without valid automobile insurance coverage and exposed California drivers to uninsured motorists.
Topics California Auto Fraud Agencies
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