Georgia Agent Indicted on 23 Counts, Accused of Stealing $1.3M from Customers

A Georgia man was indicted last month on 23 counts, including insurance fraud and trafficking an elder person by financial exploitation, after an investigation earlier this year by the Georgia Department of Insurance Fraud Unit led to his arrest.

According to a statement from the Georgia Department of Insurance, Baldwin County business owner Dean Harrison Grant, 54, of Roswell, Ga., was indicted by a grand jury Nov. 19 for two counts of trafficking an elder person by financial exploitation, 10 counts of insurance fraud, 10 counts of theft by taking, and one count of forgery in the first degree.

GADOI said Grant was the founder and managing partner of GFG Strategic Advisors located at 136 W McIntosh Street Suite A in Milledgeville, Ga., but was arrested in early February on several counts of insurance fraud, among other charges. At that time, he was accused of receiving a total of $589,384 from his three victims for him to secure insurance related investments, $447,589 of which was taken from two elderly customers.

He did not obtain any insurance investments with the money he received from his customers and instead used it for personal benefit, the department said.

Several weeks later, Grant was charged with seven additional counts of insurance fraud and seven additional counts of theft by taking (fiduciary). He was accused of taking an additional $785,000 from three customers for him to secure insurance-related investments, bringing the total monetary value received from the victims to almost $1.4 million.

GADOI alleges he again did not obtain any insurance related investments with said money and instead used it for personal benefit as well as unlawfully appropriated the funds with the intent of depriving the customers of the monies. In response to the charges imposed on Grant, the Department revoked his license to sell insurance (resident agent license no. 396407) effective Aug. 29, 2019.

On February 8, a few days after his arrest, an Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit Superior Court Judge denied his bond motion for 30 days. On March 8, a $750,000 bond was granted and on March 15, Grant was released from jail after posting said bond. He is now awaiting trial.

“This devious individual stole more than $1.3 million of hard-earned money from Georgians. These victims put their trust in him, and in some cases, their livelihood,” said Insurance Commissioner John F. King. “He abused that trust and left the victims out to dry. This should serve as an example to all of the people who feel they are above the law; these heinous acts will not be tolerated in this state.”

Insurance fraud is a felony punishable by imprisonment for two to ten years, or by a fine of up to $10,000, or both.

Source: Georgia Department of Insurance