Fla. Agent Charged for Grand Theft; Accused of Not Forwarding Premium

An Ormond Beach, Fla. man has been accused of not forwarding insurance premiums to his underwriter and charged with grand theft after a New York insurance agent reported the incident to the Flagler Beach Police Department.

Flagler Beach Police Det. Liz Williams told the Daytona Beach News-Journal that Steven Swan, a local insurance agent, accepted a $9,000 premium payment but never forwarded the money to an underwriter. The complaint said Swan and Associates sold a specific marine insurance policy that few underwriters carry.

The agent came forward after the insurance underwriter contacted him to tell him they never received his money, Williams said.

Swan said he forwarded the $9,000 last month and that he sold his insurance agency in December. He added that he has no more clients.

However, Williams said she’s concerned the same thing could be happening to other clients of Swan. And if that’s the case, they are vulnerable to large financial losses while believing they are insured, she said.

“If you don’t have a claim, then you would never know,” Williams said. “We don’t want homeowners here to be uninsured.”

A New York woman also went through Swan for an insurance policy on a home in Palm Coast, Williams said. The woman checked with the underwriter and discovered her payments were never forwarded.

Williams recently forwarded a count against Swan of grand theft of more than $5,000 to the State Attorney’s Office for the first case. She said she plans to file another grand theft charge against Swan for the incident with the woman. Swan said he knows nothing of the charge involving the New York woman. Williams is asking Swan’s clients to let her know if they think the same happened to them.

Topics Fraud Agencies New York