A Travis County, Texas grand jury indicted John William Tesseyman III of Tyler for fraudulent insurance activities that may have left dozens of petroleum product truckers and fireworks display companies without the automobile, liability and property coverage they paid for.
Many individuals, agents and other entities in Texas and other states have sustained financial losses and incurred claims for which they may never be compensated as a result of Tesseyman´s alleged unauthorized conduct.
The six-count indictment lists premium payments totaling more than $1.8 million from 35 different customers. Several of the premium payments were in six figures, including one for $655, 858. The premiums were deposited into the bank account of the Tesher Corp. of Tyler, owned by Tesseyman.
The indictment alleges that Tesseyman´s unauthorized insurance activities occurred from October 1, 2001, to June 5, 2002, when a warrant was issued for his arrest and Insurance Commissioner Jose Montemayor issued an emergency cease-and-desist order to stop those activities.
Unauthorized insurance—the sale of insurance without the license or other eligibility required by Texas law—is a third-degree felony. The maximum penalty is 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
Travis County District Attorney Ronald Earle´s office obtained the indictment following a joint investigation with the Insurance Fraud Unit of the Texas Department of Insurance. Additional charges are pending. The investigation included execution of a search warrant at Tesseyman´s office in Tyler in June.
Under Texas law, the Travis County district attorney has statewide jurisdiction in insurance fraud cases.
According to the indictment and/or the TDI staff application for the cease-and-desist order, Tesher Corp. was licensed in 2001 as an insurance agency. The corporation’s license permitted it to sell only life and health insurance. The license did not permit the Tesher Corp. to sell property and casualty insurance, such as liability coverage. TDI denied Tesher Corp.´s application for a property and casualty insurance agent´s license. The property and casualty policies in question are alleged to have been illegally sold or marketed by the corporation.
In a separate administrative action, Texas Department of Insurance attorneys are seeking the revocation of Tesseyman´s individual licenses as an insurance agent.
The Tesher Corp. has been placed in state receivership.
In addition to Tesher´s unauthorized insurance activities, TDI staff allege that Tesseyman and the incorporated agency failed to provide actual policies to customers, misrepresented policy terms or failed to secure the coverages that policyholders had been promised. They also contend that Tesseyman and Tesher Corp. collected premiums for policies with companies that Tesseyman no longer represented. TDI staff further allege that Tesseyman failed to remit premiums to insurers and failed to refund premiums collected for insurance that was not procured.
Topics Texas Fraud Trucking Property Casualty
Was this article valuable?
Here are more articles you may enjoy.
Former Congressman Charged After Collision with State Trooper in Florida 
USAA to Lay Off 220 Employees 
Chubb to Acquire MGA Healthy Paws From Aon 
Marsh McLennan Agency to Buy Fisher Brown Bottrell for About $316M 
