Florida Arrests Two Insurance Executives for Lying on Statements

Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink announced today the culmination of an extensive insurance fraud investigation with the arrest of Luis M. Espinosa, 60, and Rene M. Cambert, 55, on eight first degree felony counts each for filing false or misleading financial statements for First Commercial Insurance Company (FCIC) and its affiliated company, First Commercial Transportation and Property Insurance Company (FCTPIC) with the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR).

Espinosa was the president and CEO and Cambert was the vice president and chief operating officer of (FCIC/ FCTPIC) at the time the companies were ordered into receivership for liquidation in 2009. Each felony count carries a potential 30-year sentence.

Three Department of Financial Services divisions, including the Division of Insurance Fraud (DIF), worked on the case, which resulted in the arrest of the two FCIC officers for filing false and misleading reports of the companies’ financial condition.

The arrests occurred after the Division of Insurance Fraud’s Major Case Squad was able to prove regulatory reporting documents signed by both Espinosa and Cambert were fraudulent, including quarterly statements declaring the companies were maintaining the minimum capital and surplus of $4 million required to meet Florida’s statutory obligations as an insurance provider. The investigation revealed that numerous documents filed indicated that the companies had more reserve assets than they actually possessed.

These findings confirmed that Espinosa and Cambert knowingly signed fraudulent notarized documents, and that both knew the requirements of law regarding their companies’ assets. It was discovered that the worthless cash assets, totaling more than $10 million, impaired the capital of both companies.

Topics Florida Fraud