Former Calif. Agent Sentenced for Selling Fraudulent Policies

A former insurance agent was sentenced after pleading guilty to one misdemeanor count of unlawful concealment of insurance payments.

The California Department of Insurance (CDI) Investigation Division determined that former insurance agent Yvette Roberta Lopez, 38, of Camarillo, and her employee, Antonio “Tony” Briones, accepted more than $3,000 in insurance premium, issued fraudulent insurance identification cards to victims, and failed to remit premiums to insurance companies for automobile insurance policies.

Lopez who operated “Yvette R. Lopez Insurance Services” in Ventura County, with offices in Santa Paula and Oxnard, was sentenced on Sept. 8, 2005 to one day in county jail, 80 hours community service, 36 months formal probation and ordered to pay restitution for one misdemeanor count of unlawful concealment of insurance benefits or payments.

“Consumers should be able to trust their insurance agents with their financial investments,” said Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi. “Fraud, such as in this case, destroys that trust and costs consumers their hard-earned money. We will continue our efforts against these crimes.”

Lopez pleaded guilty on July 7, 2005, to one misdemeanor count of unlawful concealment of insurance benefits or payments. Briones’ criminal case is still pending.

The CDI Investigation Division worked with the Ventura County District Attorney’s Fraud Division on this case. Victims were allegedly given insurance identification cards that were unauthorized by the insurance companies, and Lopez failed to remit the vehicle insurance premium payments to insurance companies. Victims discovered they were not insured when they failed to receive insurance documents. In one case, a victim was involved in a traffic collision with injuries and was notified by the DMV that they did not have valid insurance.