Carlos Vasquez-Marquez and Jose Miguel (Mike) Marquez, of Rancho Palos Verdes, have been arrested and charged with seven felony counts of grand theft. The arrests are the result of a 20-month investigation conducted by the California Department of Insurance, Los Angeles Investigation Division.
The investigation found that Carlos Vasquez-Marquez, a licensed broker/agent and owner of Unitrans Insurance Services of Wilmington, along with his brother Mike, who is unlicensed, allegedly collected insurance premiums and failed to provide coverage to their clients. The Marquez brothers allegedly collected over $18,000 in premiums from seven victims over an 18-month period before their arrests on March 3. They were booked into the Los Angeles County Jail and released March 5, posting bail of $160,000 each.
“The Marquez brothers targeted Latino truck drivers in the Los Angeles area, collecting premiums and leading the drivers to believe they were receiving bonafide commercial trucker policies. However, the premiums were never submitted to insurance companies and the policies were a fraud,” said Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi.
In an effort to make the policies appear legitimate, the brothers allegedly used real insurance company names that specialize in providing insurance to the trucking industry. Insurers included Liberty Mutual, Sutter Insurance Company, General Security Insurance, TOPA Insurance, Adriatic Insurance and Ranger Insurance Company.
Carlos Vasquez-Marquez, after being contacted by Department of Insurance investigators, decided to return the premium money to the victims. The brothers face seven charges of grand theft.
Topics Auto
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