Florida’s ‘Most Wanted’ Insurance Fraudster Arrested

One of Florida’s first “Most Wanted” insurance criminals was arrest based on a tip provided through the state’s new fraud Web site.

Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater announced that Erline Telfort had been arrested after running a “Ponzi” scheme that allegedly raked in more than $600,000 from fraudulent homeowners insurance policies.

The arrest came after information was provided to the CFO’s Public Assistance Fraud Unit through its new Web site that allows citizens to post information on fraud operations.

A Department of Financial Services Division fraud investigation found that Telfort and Maralene Raymondville acted as agents of E&M Insurance Services and Santa Maria Insurance Co. Between January 2009 and December 2009, the couple allegedly prepared more than 200 fraudulent policies and deposited over $600,000 into their business account. The money should have been sent to the insurance company to pay the full price of the homeowners’ policies. Only $92,000 was recouped.