California Department of Insurance News

California Tow Truck Driver Arraigned on 54 Counts of Insurance Fraud, Assault

Eliu Canales, 43, was arraigned this week on 54 felony counts of insurance fraud, assault with a deadly weapon and reckless driving after a joint investigation by the California Department of Insurance and San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office found …

Georgia Business Owner Sentenced in $54M California Workers’ Comp Fraud

Wesley Owens, 54, of Atlanta, Georgia, and Beau Wilson, 38, also of Atlanta, pleaded no contest to multiple felony counts of insurance fraud and conspiracy in Los Angeles Superior Court over charges filed after a California Department of Insurance investigation …

California Fines Online Health Provider $3.2M over Claims Practices

The Pill Club Holdings Inc. (dba The Pill Club) paid $3.2 million after the California Department of Insurance alleged it violated the California Insurance Frauds Prevention Act by submitting false claims to insurance companies for reimbursement for telehealth visits and …

Supreme Court Won’t Take up Applied Suit Against California Department of Insurance

The U.S. Supreme Court will not take up a lawsuit from Applied Underwriters Inc. over a decision by the California Department of Insurance to put its affiliate into conservatorship. The court on Monday declined to hear the case. A CDI …

Former California Insurance Agent Arrested for Allegedly Stealing $90K

Sally Nava Kanarek, 76, of Huntington Beach, was arrested this week on multiple felony counts of financial elder abuse, grand theft of an elder, and forgery after a California Department of Insurance investigation found she allegedly defrauded an elderly client …

Former California Insurance Agent Sentenced After Embezzling Clients’ Premium Payments

Anaiza Villarreal Lopez, 30, of McFarland, California was sentenced in Kern County Superior Court on one count of grand theft by embezzlement after pocketing clients’ premium payments and leaving several of them uninsured. After receiving a complaint, the California Department …

Former California Insurance Agent Arrested in Alleged $100K Investment Scam

Gautam Arora, 38, of Tustin, California, was arrested on 11 felony counts of securities violations and money laundering after a California Department of Insurance investigation reportedly found he allegedly defrauded four victims out of $100,000 to secure investments that did …

Former California Insurance Agent Sentenced for Theft

Francis Okyere, 70, a previously licensed insurance agent in Westlake Village, California, was sentenced this week after pleading no contest to 17 felony counts of identity theft and grand theft by false pretenses. A California Department of Insurance investigation reportedly …

Viewpoint: California Regulatory System Hurting Independent Agents and Their Clients

Millions of California insurance consumers are being adversely affected and incurring higher costs of insurance due to the malfunctioning insurance regulatory system in California. Moreover, the broken regulatory environment is undermining, and in some cases, threatening to destroy, independent insurance …

California Department of Insurance Investigation Leads to Arraignment Bail Agents

Unlicensed bail agent Jimmy Mai, 35, of Irvine, and licensed bail agent Jonathan Lahmani, 42, of Orange, California, were each arraigned in Los Angeles Superior Court on one felony count of negotiating bail without a license. The arraignments follow an …