Florida’s Department of Financial Services (DFS) has arrested an alleged unlicensed insurance agent and his accomplice after a scheme involving fraudulent certificates of insurance (COIs) left a construction company without the coverage it believed it had purchased.
The investigation began when a construction company submitted two COIs to a DFS compliance officer. The insurer confirmed the policies had never been active. Yaudat Antonio Ohan had collected a premium of $10,500 and provided the company owner with certificates for non-existent coverage.
Investigators then established that Ohan had been permanently barred from holding an insurance agent license in Florida since 2002, and had since been operating as an agent inside a licensed agency run by Alberto Villaruel. Further investigation showed that Villaruel knew Ohan was unlicensed and permitted him to collect premiums without providing valid coverage - making the licensed agency the vehicle through which the fraud was conducted.
Ohan was arrested on September 28, 2026. He has been charged with conspiracy to commit racketeering, organized scheme to defraud, grand theft, uttering a forged instrument, unlawful use of a telecommunications device, transacting insurance without a license, and insurance funds diversion.
Villaruel was arrested on October 20, 2026, and charged with grand theft, organized scheme to defraud, and conspiracy to commit racketeering.
Chief financial officer Blaise Ingoglia said: “Floridians’ insurance policies are meant to protect them, not fund criminals’ bank accounts. Insurance fraud is a crime tax on law abiding Floridians, and I will not stand for that cost to be passed onto Florida families. Anyone acting as an unlicensed insurance agent or anyone aiding unlicensed agents will face the full brunt of the law and be put in handcuffs.”
Prosecution falls under the jurisdiction of the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office. The DFS Criminal Investigations Division is asking anyone with knowledge of insurance fraud to contact its hotline at 1-800-378-0445 or report it at FraudFreeFlorida.com.
COI fraud is a persistent exposure in commercial lines, particularly in construction where certificate requests are routine and volume can mask irregularities. Brokers placing commercial clients in sectors with high COI turnover can verify agent licensing status through Florida’s publicly searchable DFS database before entering any co-brokerage or referral arrangement.
