Former California Agent Pleads Guilty to 90 Counts of Insurance Fraud

A former insurance broker has pleaded guilty to a number of charges including insurance fraud for collecting premiums without placing coverage.

Karen Marie Dondanville, 56, a former broker from Mission Viejo, pleaded guilty to 90 counts including grand theft auto, insurance fraud and forgery.

According to the California Department of Insurance, over a span of eight years, Dondanville collected premiums from 32 victims and failed to place insurance coverage resulting in $183,047 in stolen payments.

Dondanville was ordered to pay $335,349 in restitution to the victims. She was sentenced to three years of formal probation and 33 years in prison if probation is violated.

The CDI reportedly fielded multiple consumer complaints against Dondanville while she was conducting her business at Streamline Insurance Services and Broadstreet Insurance Services. In addition to transacting insurance without a license, she attempted to cover up the theft by giving clients falsified documents as proof of insurance, according to the CDI.

Dondanville’s actions also resulted in several policies being canceled for nonpayment. Her 32 victims were left without insurance for more than 10,000 collective days, according to the CDI.

Two cease and desist orders were issued against Dondanville when consumers who purchased insurance from her filed complaints, which was after the CDI had already revoked her license on Nov. 6, 2019.

The Orange County District Attorney’s Office Major Fraud Unit prosecuted the case.