Former Florida Insurance Agent Arrested for Stealing $20K in Premiums
The Florida Department of Financial Services’ Division of Insurance Fraud (DIF) announced the arrest of Lisa Dwyer, 49, a formerly licensed insurance agent employed by Southeast Insurance Agency in Davie, Fla., after she allegedly stole more than $20,000 in premium funds from her clients.
During an eight month window of time, the owner of Southeast Insurance Agency discovered that one of his agents, Dwyer, had allegedly misappropriated, or stolen, insurance premium payments from his company’s customers. The owner fired Dwyer and reported her actions to the Division of Insurance Fraud.
An investigation led by DIF in concert with the Department’s Division Agent and Agency Services revealed that more than 50 customers had some if not all of their premium checks stolen by Dwyer, for a grand total of just under $22,000 in wrongfully allocated insurance premium funds. According to Dwyer, much of the stolen funds were kept for her own personal use, but she claimed to also have used some of the premiums to make payments on a few of the insurance policies.
The owner of Southeast Insurance Agency compensated for the fraudulent actions of the employee by ensuring sure that all affected policies were paid for and current.
Dwyer was booked into the Broward County Jail and charged with misappropriation/diversion of fiduciary funds, a second degree felony, and bond was set at $3,500. The case is being prosecuted by the office of Broward County State Attorney Michael J. Satz. If convicted, Dwyer could face up to 15 years in prison and up to $10,000 in fines.
Source: Florida Department of Financial Services