A Miami insurance agent accused of stealing insurance premium payments from a client and providing fake insurance documents has been arrested, according to a statement from Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater and Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle.
Diomari Diaz is alleged to have stolen insurance premium payments her South Florida client and providing him with fake proof of insurance documents. She is also accused of stealing thousands in escrow funds from the Florida Trust Insurance Agency account. In total, Diaz allegedly misappropriated nearly $25,000, and insurance fraud investigators have reason to believe that additional individuals may have fallen victim to Diaz’s scams.
DFS’ said a client contacted the Department of Financial Services’ Bureau of Insurance Fraud after he suspected that insurance documents provided by Diaz were fake. Investigators confirmed that although the client had paid nearly $4,000 in insurance premium payments, Diaz never actually purchased policies to cover his two South Florida properties. Instead, she created fake documents and used the money for personal purposes.
Investigators later revealed that Diaz opened a corporate bank account and listed herself as the only authorized user. The account included overdraft protection and was set up to transfer funds from the company’s escrow account if overdrawn. DFS said by intentionally overdrafting the account, Diaz was able to divert more than $20,000 from the company’s escrow account, all of which was used for personal gain.
Diaz was arrested and booked into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Facility. She has been charged with uttering a forged instrument, and misappropriation of insurance funds greater than $20,000. Florida Trust Insurance Agency has since surrendered its agency license and Diaz is no longer authorized to sell insurance. This case will be prosecuted by the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office Insurance Fraud Unit and if convicted, Diaz faces up to 15 years in prison.
The Department believes that additional individuals may have been defrauded, and investigators are encouraging anyone who has conducted business with Diomari Diaz or the Florida Trust Insurance Agency to contact the Department’s Fraud Tip Hotline by calling 1-800-378-0445.
Source: Florida Department of Financial Services
Was this article valuable?
Here are more articles you may enjoy.
Dubai Floods Expose Weaknesses to a Rapidly Changing Climate 
FBI Says Chinese Hackers Preparing to Attack US Infrastructure 
Coral Gables, Florida Tops Beverly Hills as Ritziest Home Market in US 
California Sees Two More Property Insurers Withdraw From Market 
