A former Long Island, N.Y., insurance broker has been sentenced to between three and nine years in prison after scamming clients and several insurance companies.
Kimberly Graziano, who owned and operated K.A.G. Insurance, pleaded guilty to grand larceny and fraud. In addition to her prison sentence, she has been ordered to pay $1.8 million in restitution.
Celebrate excellence in insurance. Join us at the Insurance Business Awards in Chicago on October 26.
Prosecutors said that Graziano falsified contracts by convincing a company, Alliance Premium Funding Corp., to financially back policies for her corporate clients, according to a Newsday report. However, she never actually purchased coverage for them.
Investigators uncovered nearly 30 phony financing contracts, Newsday reported. The contracts represented more than $1 million in stolen Alliance Premium funds.
In a separate scheme, she collected premium payments from customers for whom she hadn’t actually obtained coverage. To lend credence to her ruse, Graziano gave customers fake insurance cards and certificates of liability insurance.
“Her schemes began to unravel when her clients’ vehicle registrations were suspended by DMV(s) for lapses in insurance coverage, and claims made on commercial insurance policies were being denied by insurance carriers for lack of a policy,” Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota said in a statement.
Graziano also ran schemes that defrauded dozens of towing companies, truck operations and snow-removal businesses, Newsday reported. In addition, she continued to operate K.A.G. Insurance despite failing to renew her license in 2015.
“This broker violated the trust of the companies she defrauded and also the good faith of her clients, who believed she was providing insurance coverage for their vehicles,” said Maria T. Vullo, superintendent of the New York Department of Financial Services.'
Related stories:
Sheriff’s deputy faces jail over workers’ comp fraud
NY psychiatric aide allegedly scammed workers’ comp
