Minnesota broker charged for alleged $650,000 fraud scheme
Minnesota broker charged for alleged $650,000 fraud scheme | Insurance Business America
Insurance News
Minnesota broker charged for alleged $650,000 fraud scheme
Commerce Fraud Bureau is handling the case
Insurance News
By
David Saric
The Commerce Fraud Bureau has formally charged Minnesota broker Kevin Anthony Meyers for his alleged involvement in a $650,000 fraud scheme.
The organization found evidence that Meyers invented customers and faked Social Security numbers with working for Cigna Corp from 2018 to 2020.
401 life insurance policies Meyers claimed to have sold between May 2018 to June 2019 never generated a premium payment to Cigna, while some of the Social Security numbers did not exist or belonged to people who had died, according to a Commerce Department news release.
Some of the supposed customers told investigators they knew Meyers but had not purchased any insurance from him, it has been alleged. Meyers also earned commissions after reporting sales to employees of a company called Synergy Benefits Solutions. Investigators concluded that Meyers was the sole owner of Synergy, it was said in the release.
The charges allege that Meyers used these fraudulent earnings to purchase cars, airplane tickets and to shop, including a $76,000 to a Jaguar Land Rover dealer while also withdrawing $100,000 in cash.
Meyers must repay $648,000 to Cigna within five years. The Department of Commerce, which licenses insurance brokers in Minnesota, revoked his insurance license retroactively and imposed a civil penalty of $100,000, which will be waived when he repays Cigna in full.
The charges against Meyers include six felony counts of fraud, theft by swindle and identity theft, with the most serious counts carrying a sentence of up to 20 years in prison and a fine of $100,000. His first appearance in Ramsey County District Court is set for Oct. 10.
“We are grateful for the hard work of the Minnesota Department of Commerce fraud investigators to bring this case forward to our office,” said Ramsey County Attorney John Choi.
“The burden of this type of fraud is shouldered by the public through increases in insurance rates, and the law enforcement focus on uncovering this type of financial fraud is our priority.”
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