Iowa Revokes License of Arizona Insurance Agent Over Annuity Fraud Scheme
An Arizona insurance agent has lost his Iowa insurance license and is barred for reapplying for 10 years after the Iowa Insurance Division found he fleeced elderly Iowa residents.
The division said in a news release that Mark Diamond, of Scottsdale, Arizona, routinely offered free meal seminars to gain the trust of attendees, most of whom were 80 or older. He then used high-pressure tactics to sell them fixed annuities they did not need.
The division says Diamond violated Iowa law, including by using unfair and deceptive practices, by providing misleading and false information and by failing to report his insurance license was suspended or revoked in other states.
Besides his Iowa license suspension, Diamond was ordered to pay nearly $68,000 in civil penalties, restitution and investigative costs.